Jealousy Makes You Look Adorable
by AbbyF809
Summary: Red invites Liz on a trip to Mexico to meet a mysterious woman...
1. Chapter 1

Hello my dear readers!

I come back with a second BL story and this one is actually taking me to the limits of my comfort zone. I am a action writing type of writer and I am not so good with the whole fluff and talk and angst thing, although I LOVE to read it. But I though: "Hey, this community is SO cool and the guys who read and reviewed your last story were so kind and cool...you should try something new."

Wel and here we are.

I intend to not post so many chapters, but make them longer. This means the updates will take a little bit longer than they used to the last time. Hope you dont mind. If you prefer shortzer but faster: tell me:)

I hope you'll like the start(It's not that long yet, cause I wanna know from you if it is any good first;) and let me know what ya thing:)

Have fun!:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 1

Elizabeth Keen was officially bored. She was sitting in the Post Office at her desk and praying to any kind of higher power, that Red would find her a case, pronto. After her failed marriage and her father's death there hasn't been a lot she had left in her life anymore. It was only work, Red and more work from day to day. A heavy sigh left her lungs and she slowly let her gaze wander over the rather empty, cold walls of her office. Nothing personal anywhere to be seen. Well…she didn't really have any personal life left anymore and she didn't particularly liked to be remembered of lost thing. At least Red still thought she was something "special". A quiet pathetic thing to hold on to, when she considered the vehemence she had been fighting against this just a few months ago.

She jerked, when the phone on her desk ringed sharply.

"Keen." She tried really hard to keep her excitement over the call out of her voice, but the caller still picked up on it and teased her immediately.

"Happy to hear from me?"

A smile appeared on her face anyway "Hi, Red. Please tell me you have a new case for us. I am going nuts with boredom here."

Red laughed whole-heartedly and Liz wondered what had him in such a good mood.

"Pack your things and your dog, Lizzie. We are traveling to Mexico in two hours. I already talked to Cooper and he cleared you for the next week. Dembe and I will pick you up at your house."

"Huh?" Liz' mouth was hanging open, almost hitting the desk surface.

"No need to thank me, Lizzie. Just be ready in two hours and pack a nice summer dress."

With that, Red ended the call and Liz heard a distinctive click, followed by a beeping tone. Her brows furrowed and she sat in her chair motionless. _Well, that was weird. He never takes me on his longer journeys. And he wants to take Hudson? What's going on?_

Slowly she collected all her things and when she was ready to go, Liz called Cooper just to make sure that Red wasn't lying about clearing his newest idea with her boss. He wasn't. Cooper, almost as much in the dark as she was right now, only informed her that Reddington was meeting some kind of contact in Mexico and decided that Keen had to go with him. The criminal had given no other explanation, which wasn't a surprise to neither Cooper nor Liz. Red loved those little games. Liz assumed that it made him feel almighty…having the upper hand all the time and being a step ahead of them.

_Well, as long as it gives me a reason to get out of here…by all means…be my guest Red._

An hour later, Liz was about to throw the last piece of clothing into her suitcase, when a knock sounded at her door. While shouting to Hudson not to bark like a maniac, she glanced at her bedside clock, frowned and inwardly groaned. Red was too early. She stomped down the stairs and threw the door open, glaring at Red, who stood smiling and holding a shopping bag in his hand.

"Hello Lizzie. I've brought you a little something as an apology for being early."

Unsure of what was happening, Liz tentatively reached for the bag.

"C'mon Lizzie. I wouldn't give you a bomb or a toxic animal, now would I?"

Liz hesitated and finally found her voice.

"I don't really know."

Red clicked his tongue and shook his head. Liz could see his eyes narrowing under the brim of his hat.

"You disappoint me, Lizzie."

Liz responded with a roll of her eyes and finally peered into the bag. She saw something red and silky waiting for her just to touch it. Yes, it almost beckoning her to reach in and touch it.

"What is that?" she asked quietly.

Red smiled and nodded in the direction of the bag.

"I know you like your FBI style, but for this occasion you will need something really nice and I have to admit I do not trust your style of clothing."

Red saw her eyes lower back to the dress and her face seemed to pale a little. Interesting.

"I have to put it into my suitcase and then I am ready to go. You want to wait inside?"

Red smiled and came in. He watched her run back up the stairs and heard a door slam.

Again: Interesting.

Red saw Hudson trudging to him and sniffing the air around him.

"Ah…good dog. You smelled it right? We may be able to teaching finding bombs and drugs, after all." With a smile he produced a small pack of meat out of his pocket and fed it to the dog chunk by chunk. When the last piece was devoured, Red patted the dog's head and went to the kitchen to wash his hands.

On the way he looked around and noticed some changes in the house since Tom had moved out. He had been around a few times but mostly because of a pressing matter and didn't have time to look for changed details. There was more color and a few more personal things. The biggest change was that there were various things randomly scattered around the house. His Lizzie seemed to be either a bit of a slop lately or she was just too tired. He had noticed her drawn face and the usual pretty rose ting on her cheeks being a little bit paler than normal. Maybe she would feel better after she found out what he had discovered. He at least, was over the moon with happiness.

Red heard Liz stumbling down the stairs, dragging her suitcase behind her and making a lot of banging sounds.

"Good lord, Lizzie. What did you pack? Stones? Let me help you before you do some damage on your back."

Red rushed to her, taking two steps at a time and took the offending object out of her hands. He lifted it and brought it down without further disturbing noises. Liz hurried after him, grabbing for the suitcase but found it, every time she tried, just out of her reach.

"Don't be ridiculous, Elizabeth. I am a perfect gentleman and will not allow you to carry this monster all the way to the car. Really, you should know me better."

Liz froze and blinked at him.

"Allow me?" she asked incredulously. "Since when are YOU the gentleman. Usually you ask Dembe to be the gentleman and help."

Red turned to her, never losing the strange smile on his lips.

"Follow me, please. We need to be at the airport in eh…" he glanced demonstratively at his golden watch and sighed. "…an hour. See, you almost made us late. Good thing we came earlier."

With that, he swung around, walked lazily through the door and to the black car waiting for them. Dembe stood, leaning on the car trunk and opened it when he saw his boss coming out of the house.

_What, in Pete's name, is happening here?, _she wondered, still standing rooted to the spot and looking after the man who just left her house. Finally, she shook her head, closed her gaping mouth, called for Hud

"Why so nervous, darling?"

Her head whipped around, meeting Red's curious gaze. Of course he would notice, damn him.

"Nervous? I am not nervous. Why should I be?"

Instead of answering, Red covered her still moving fingers with one hand and squeezed gently.

"No need to clench. There won't be any danger in Mexico waiting for us. I promise."

Liz' brain interpreted the sentence as something that was not at all a comfort.

"You're telling me I am supposed to believe you? Honestly Red…after so many times you told me not to worry and then thrusting me in some ridiculous situations I am not at all prepared for, you expect me to be calm and relaxed now? Please…you can't be this insensitive."

Liz was completely aware of the fact she was lashing out at him out of frustration. THIS was just what she wished for merely a few hours ago, but this man had the unique ability to throw her out of balance and at this point in her life she didn't want that anymore. She wanted stability and someone who cared about her without ulterior motives and Red surely didn't belong into this category. She took a deep breath and looked away from his stare.

"Listen, I am sorry. I am just a little bit stressed lately." When she saw him nod, she tugged at his hand playfully. "And you don't really help relieve that stress most of the time." She smiled at him thinly and was glad he accepted her explanation and apology without asking anything further.

The rest of the ride went smooth and quiet. The silence was to Liz' surprise rather comfortable and she found herself starting to relax a little bit. In no time they arrived at the airport and climbed out of the car. Red insisted to carry her bag and Liz suspected very strongly that she had wounded his ego by saying he let Dembe take over the gentleman actions. She shrugged her shoulders at her own thoughts and followed the two man to the private jet, she could already see in the distance. The wind was picking up and her hair was thrown into her face, making her curse under her breath. Tom always wanted her to have longer hair. Made her seem softer, he said. Maybe she should consider cutting it really short. Just to mock the man who put her through hell. _Funny how I don't think of Red when I say putting through hell…_

She reached the jet's stairs when Dembe and Hudson were already inside with their suitcases and Red was waiting patiently for her at the top of the steps. Through his dark sunglasses she couldn't see his eyes but she felt his gaze on her like a hot laser pointer. Suddenly she was afraid to trip over her own feet and fall flat on her face.

_Oh c'mon Elizabeth…get a grip here…you are a lot of things but you have NEVER been a klutz so stop it!_

She made it safely to the last step and took the offered hand to get over the edge of the entrance.

"Welcome aboard, sweetheart. I hope you will enjoy the flight." Red said when he lead her with a hand on her lower back through the jet and pointed out some important things.

"The restroom is over there, the mini bar is around the corner but I've heard from a reliable source that the food and drinks you can order are a million times better than the snacks in this little excuse of a fridge. Ah…here are the seat. You can choose freely where you want to rest. The flight won't be long but you may rest your eyes anyway. I will wake you once we reach our destination." Red gestured to the ten seats available and looked at her expectantly. Liz watched Hudson make himself comfortable at Dembe's feet and hesitantly put her handbag on the seat right next to her and smiled.

"Thank you, Red. I think I will take this one and indeed rest."

While she made herself comfortable on the chair, situated right by the window, Red patted her shoulder and grinned. "Be my guest. I am wishing you a good rest. Call if you need anything. I will be right across the aisle.

With that, he left Lizzie to her thoughts and after only a few minutes, she fell into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Red took a file out of his leather case and breathed deeply before opening it. Inside was a sheet of paper with a picture of a woman close to Liz' age. There weren't a lot of information on the paper besides the name, age and line of work.

_Bethany Hurst, born Petterson. Barkeeper in Mexico City._

Red rolled the name around in his mind for a while until a soft smile appeared on his face.

Pretty name…Red wondered if she had chosen it herself, or if her adopted parents had decided for her.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys:)

Thank you so much for the reviews! I dodnt have so much time on my hands the last few days so I didnt write you guys individually but I will try to do so the next time! But know that I appreciate every single comment:)

Have fun with the next chapter:) (Which doesnt reveal anything important yet;))

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 2

Liz looked around her when the streets of Mexico City blurred by her. She and Hudson were sitting once again in the backseat of a car next to Red and couldn't get enough of the sights outside. Both their faces were practically pressed against the window and their heads were whipping from one side to the other to not miss anything.

Red's enthusiastic voice brought her out of her awe a few minutes later.

"Our official meeting is in three days that gives us plenty of time to sightsee and enjoy the food."

"Three days?" Liz felt mild panic rise in her chest. Three days alone with Red? Sightseeing? Like in a vacation? _Oh my god, I am so screwed…_

Her face must have betrayed her and shown her unhappiness with his plan, because it didn't take long for Red to comment on it in a light, curious tone.

"Something wrong, Lizzie?"

"I ehm….I…" what should she say? I don't want a vacation, although everyone around me including myself knows that I am in desperate need of a break from work and personal life? But what was bothering her most, was the fact that she actually felt flattered by Red asking her-thinking of her. Tom had never thought of her needs, even when it was evident what she needed or wanted. She always had to voice her desire…always had to ask and plead…

"I just don't get why you took me with you this time."

Red laughed and sighed happily.

"I want you to meet someone and I wanted to start showing you the world. Now that your husband is gone, I can carry you off to the most beautiful places on earth. I have dreamed of taking you with me on my journeys for a long time now, but it just was never the right time. Now the time has come and we can both enjoy the things the world has to offer."

Liz' breath hitched in her throat and a blush appeared on her face.

"No need to be flustered, sweetheart. I've never made a secret out of the fact that I am enjoying your company, have I?" He smirked and winked at her.

Before Liz could think of a comeback, the car stopped and the engine was shut off.

"We're here." Red informed her and swiftly opened the door, getting out of the car. Liz followed his lead, opening the door and swinging her legs out of the car. Her feet didn't hit the familiar texture of pavement and she looked down curiously. Under her heels, she saw a blue carpet and when she trailed her eyes up, she saw it lead to a golden entrance door that looked worth her yearly salary. Liz stood up and while closing the car door behind her, craned her neck, so she could see how high the building was. She was looking into the sky in awe until she started to feel dizzy and finally let her head fall back down.

"Wow." She breathed to herself, but Red's keen hearing registered it anyway.

"Wait till you see the interior. I am sure you have never seen such a beautiful ceiling before. But I think it would be a good idea to put Hudson on the leash for now. Dembe will take care of it, I'm sure."

With that said, he touched her at her elbow and gently pulled her along, whispering conspiratorially: "I think he likes the mutt." Liz looked back and saw Dembe talking to her dog, while putting his leash on. _Sweet, _she thought and smirked. Dembe was always so awfully serious. A friend would be just the right thing for him to loosen up a bit.

When they entered the hotel, Liz had to admit that Red hadn't promised too much. The hotel was filled with overly expensive décor and looked almost unreal to her. Everywhere she looked, the colors gold and blue were prominent and her eyes were growing bigger and bigger by the minute. She didn't even notice Red and Dembe returning from the front desk, already finished with all the formalities.

"Shall we, my dear? Our rooms are on the 20th floor. I am telling you, there is an exquisite view from your suite. I was staying there the last time I was here. It was just priceless."

They took the elevator up to the 20th floor and stepped out into a long hall, decorated as expensively as the rest of the hotel. While walking, Liz let her right hand glide over the satin wallpapers and marveled the soft texture. She didn't think she had ever seen something so beautiful.

"This is your room, Lizzie. I hope you'll like it:"

Liz walked to his side, where he had opened a door and her mouth fell open instantly when she laid eyes on the room he indicated to her. It was specious, decorated mostly in soft red colors, and a fluffy carpet. The king sized bed was covert with a glossy red duvet and the six big pillows were beautifully embroidered. Red hadn't lied about the view either. The two windows were enormous and the view over the whole city breathtaking.

"This is beautiful, Red."

"Glad you like it." Red's voice had become husky and Liz turned her head to look at his face. He had a dreamy look in his eyes and a strange sense of peace radiated from him.

"You ok, Red? You look flustered." She fought against a giggle, when she saw Red's bewildered reaction.

"Flustered? Have you ever seen me flustered, darling?" he squeezed into the room and had his back to her when he said: "My room is right next to yours. Get me if you should have something on your mind that doesn't let you sleep." Now it was Liz' turn to blush and watch him open mouthed walk through an adjoining door into his own room, without glancing backwards.

"Son of a…" Liz paused her mumble and finally closed the door behind her. So obviously flirting with her wasn't Red's usual style, but he seemed to be in a terribly happy mood since he told her about this little trip. Weird. What could be so good, that he would display such a genuine happiness? There weren't a lot of things that came into her mind and all of them were almost impossible and most importantly, almost impossible for the FBI to miss, so she dismissed all of them for now and turned her attention to Hudson, who was sitting next to her and looking at her with big expectant eyes.

"Well, c'mon boy. Let's play cop dog and search this place.

Liz took her sweet time to walk through the room with Hudson and explore every nook of it. You could never know when you could use a good hiding place. Always be on the safe side when you are traveling with Raymond Reddington. When she was satisfied, having seen everything she wanted to, she changed into a more comfortable pair of jeans and a pullover with some glitz on it. On the ride, Red had told her to wear more casual clothes than usual and not let anyone see that she was an agent. Well, tough thing, but she WAS an agent and she knew it was written all over her body. Only FBI agents moved this one particular, self assured, yes even arrogant way, even if they were cowering, crying and whimpering inside. After changing, she glanced into the mirror and frowned. This was so not her style. It was too girly and just not her. Her eyes narrowed at her mirror image. _Don't go there, Liz. You do not look bad in this, just different. You have to get used to it, that's all. _

She jumped almost out of her skin, when the door next to her was jerked open and Red walked in.

"Gosh, Red! Did you ever hear something about knocking?" she held a hand to her chest, in hope to calm her wildly beating heart and wished for her gun she had to leave in the plane on Red's request. But even her gun wouldn't have had any chance to calm her, when her eyes roamed over the form of Red, clothed in only a rather tight dress shirt and shiny dark blue pants from a surely tailor-made suit.

"Ah Lizzie, don't gawk, it doesn't suite you." He chuckled and brushed by her. Liz' brows drew together slightly and unbelieving she trailed behind him.

"Red, you can't just storm in here. I could have been naked for all you knew."

"My darling, I know your style of clothing and I heard you rustling around and then groaning unsatisfied in front of the mirror."

Liz' mouth opened and stayed that way. The audacity of this man surprised her again and again. She should have learned by now.

"And since I know your wardrobe inside and out," he continued nonchalantly, "I decided to be so free and let some people bring you appropriate clothing. In addition to the dress I gave you earlier, of course. You cannot walk around in one dress after all." He opened the closet doors and smiled. "That's what I like to see."

Liz shook her head. How did she miss the closet?

"I don't need your clothes, Red. I am perfectly capable of dressing myself and buy my own clothes. I don't need your patronizing and I sure as hell did not gawk at you!"

Red didn't say anything, looked back at her angry face and smiled. He turned back to the closet and reached inside. Liz watched him pull out a black pantsuit and hold it out to her with a smirk. When she shook her head and stepped back a step, he walked up to her, snatched her hand and closed it over the hanger.

"I know you think you don't like those kind of clothes." He quietly told her. "But try it on and show it to me and I will tell you honestly how you look in it." He let go of her hand, walking back to his room, but sticking his head back into the room, before he closed it completely.

"By the way, you look cute when you are angry."

_An hour later…._

"I am not going anywhere in this."

Liz had changed into the expensive pantsuit and was hiding in the bathroom, while Red and Hudson were sitting on her bed and waiting for her to come out.

"This is ridiculous, Lizzie. Come out now."

"No I won't. I think for once you've made a mistake and actually got the wrong size."

Red's brows shot up and a smirk pulled at his mouth's corners.

"No mistake, Lizzie. It's supposed to look like that."

Liz huffed and ran a nervous hand through her hair.

"You don't know how it looks like. You didn't see me yet."

Re stood up from his perch on the edge of the bed and walked to the firmly closed door, while Hudson whined behind him.

"Sweetheart, you look good in everything you wear. Now come out of there." Red had noticed Lizzie starting to become self-conscious shortly after the Tom debacle. He did try to understand it. Tom had done a great job making her feel worthless and not good enough for a man to love her just for herself and not some grant secret she obviously didn't know anything about. With her father gone and a job that left little time for friends and "girly stuff" she was trapped in a male dominated world with criminals leering at her and male colleagues gushing over criminal women who had "sexy" and "dangerous" practically tattooed on their foreheads. And now without a husband she had no one who could balance her, who could compensate all the male influence and make her feel beautiful and feel like a woman should feel. Cherished.

Red took it willingly upon himself to change that.

"I'm waiting, Lizzie. And if I have to, I will wait till tomorrow." He coaxed and waited.

His eyes snapped up from one of his buttons he was inspecting, when the door slowly opened. Liz stuck out her head and looked at him pleadingly.

"I won't fall for those puppy-dog eyes of yours, you know that." Red smirked.

Slowly, limb by limb, Liz emerged from the bathroom and stood in front of Red in a pantsuit that was clinging to her like a second skin. Every curve of her body was perfectly shown off and from her knees downwards, the material began to widen slightly. A perfect mixture of sexy and still formal.

"Wow."

Liz blushed and just waited for another comment. That couldn't have been all. Red always had something to say regarding her clothes. And then it came:

"This looks like a suit from Cat woman."

Liz immediately turned around and slammed the door shut, making Red wince.

"I told you it didn't fit well. Let me wear my own clothes."

"That was tactless, ." Dembe's voice reached his ears and he nodded in agreement, posture slumping visibly.

"Why didn't you hold me back, Dembe. You are lurking in the shadow since she locked herself in that bathroom 40 minutes ago." Red's whisper sounded annoyed but they both knew he wasn't serious. Finally, Red sighed, squared his shoulders and opened the door to the bathroom, vanishing in it with a soft click of the door.

He found Liz leaning with her hips against the sink and looking into the mirror.

"Here we go again without the knocking." She complained weakly.  
Red stepped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. His head slowly moved forward until his cheek touched the soft skin of hers.

"Please forgive me for my thoughtless and maladroit remark." He whispered and watched in the mirror as her eyes grew softer.

"I was simply taken aback by how perfectly the pantsuite fit your body."

He watched her gaze lower sheepishly and heard her mumble:

"That's inappropriate, Red."

He laughed softly, his hot breath hitting her exposed skin of her neck and almost burning her.

"It very well may be, but it is the truth. And I never lie to you, darling. By the way, you may want to note that a lot of things I do for and with you look very inappropriate."

With a smirk, he stepped away from her and leaned casually against the opposite wall.

"You look like an every-man's dream in this. And that's what you have to look like today."

Her questioning look met his eyes through the mirror.

"We are going to a bar today." He explained calmly.

"A bar? That is hardly your style."

Red chuckled.

"Maybe not but it is the style of a young woman we want to meet. And preferably change her style."

Liz turned around, glaring suspiciously.

"And why do **I** have to wear stuff like this? And haven't you said that the meeting is in three days?"

She watched him push himself away from the wall and finally stop walking with his face just a few inches from hers own. He looked serious but not serious enough to step away from him.

"Officially in three days, I said. And you are wearing those things because you want to become her friend."

tbc...

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So what's it gonna be? Fast and short or Slow and long chapters? :)


	3. Chapter 3

Here comes the last short pre-written chapter!

Next one will be longer but will take a bit longer:)

Thanks so much for all the fav's and reviews and follows:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 3

Only three hours later, around 8 p.m., Red and Liz were sitting in a bar that could only be described as cheap. Liz was watching various men following her with leering eyes and did her best to ignore them.

"I really don't feel comfortable here, Red. We are waiting for an hour already but the only thing I can see are slimy and drunk men. No girl, no nothing." A slightly annoyed huff left her mouth and she propped up her chin on her hand. Red didn't bother to answer. He was keeping an eye on the men himself, but he doubted that they would actually make a move on Lizzie. She was here with him and in this scene it equaled belonging to him. Red didn't have any problem with this assumption, as long as they didn't attempt to touch her.

"There she is." Liz' excited whisper broke him out of a staring contest with a particularly ugly looking drunk. He whipped his head into the direction of the main entrance and stopped all movements. His eyes fixed on the woman coming in. Her long hair was dark and her skin a little bit more tanned than Liz'. Her eyes were big and had something of a doll. The sweetness of her face was diminished by her clothes though. Her too short colored leather skirt was of a hideous blue color and the top, showing the skin of her belly, had glitter all over the red base color. She wore something similar to a cardigan, but Red couldn't identify what it was supposed to be. At least it was covering her arms and a good part of her chest, since she had the first button closed.

"Red?"

Although he heard Liz call him, he didn't react, still following every move the woman made.

"Earth to Red! Did you get a heart attack?" Liz started to wave her hand in front of Red's face, but found it immediately encircled in a fierce grip and held still.

"I probably will if you don't stop screaming into my ear." Red hissed, abruptly letting go of her wrist.

Taken aback by his reaction, Liz apologized quietly. What was so fascinating about this woman? Liz looked over and regarded her for a moment. She didn't look any different than any other woman who worked in a bar. Honestly, her clothes were even worse than Liz' usual style but other than that she couldn't find anything special about her.

"Is this the woman I am supposed to befriend?" Liz finally asked, slowly running out of patience.

Red nodded, with his eyes still on the woman who was taking her place behind the bar and starting to wash bear glasses. He felt Liz fidget next to him and frowned, while waiting for the next question.

"Will you at least tell me, who this is? I've never seen you this engrossed in someone."

"It doesn't matter for now."

Liz only rolled her eyes. She should have seen that answer coming. Without another word, Liz stood up, grabbed her black handbag and walked to the counter, sitting down on a stool, directly in front of the mysterious woman.

"Hi." She said in the friendliest tone she could muster.

"Hello, hon'. What can I get ya?" her voice was soft but had a little bit of any edge to it. As if she wanted it to be there. It didn't sound natural.

Liz was uncomfortably aware of Red's gaze on the back of her head and tried to stay calm and casual.

"Actually, I am new around here. Just moved here from Washington."

"Nice." The woman answered, smiling at her. "What made you move here?"

Liz hesitated for a moment and finally decided to tell as much truth as possible. She knew that she wasn't the best liar. Even Red's lessons hadn't changed that fact-

"I have a nasty divorce behind me and I needed new tapestry around me. New People, new job. Maybe new love." She smirked and winked. "Can you tell me where I can go out in the evening? You know…have fun."

The woman leaned forward and smirked crookedly at her.

"Depends on your definition of fun."

Liz couldn't help it but think that she knew this woman from somewhere. Just a few seconds ago she had thought she looked like any other bartender but when she smirked at her…there was something she recognized.

"Ehm…" Liz shook her head, thinking for the right thing to say.

"What do _you _consider as fun around here?" As an afterthought, she addd: "My name is Liz by the way."

She was surprised that after a short glance down Liz' body, the woman reached for her hand and shook it energetically. "My name is Bethany. But call me Beth. Nice to welcome you in our little hell hole."

Liz rose her eyebrows in confusion.

"I mean this bar, honey. It's called Little Hell Hole. Don't ask me who named it but please stop looking so scared." The laughter in her voice made the sentence sting just a little less and Liz smiled at Beth hesitantly.

"Not scared." Liz countered. "Just surprised, cause I thought the city looked quiet nice."

Bethany mumbled something, Liz didn't understand and handed her a glass of water with a lemon in it.

"That's on the house. For new customers. You don't look like a heavy drinker, so start with a good ol' water with a slice of lemon. Always better than alcohol, but don't tell anyone around here. It's a secret." The wink she gave her could be described as playful and sexy and Liz gulped. This woman new how to use her body to make someone squirm and feel slightly intimidated.

She heard Red's distinctive footfalls leave the bar and the bells ringing twice when it opened and shut. Liz stayed for a few more minutes and then decided it was time to go. She was sure he wanted her to tread carefully and for the first meeting it was enough of small talk.

"I think I'm gonna call it a night. But I will be back for sure, Beth. Thanks for the water."

"Sure hope so. Take care out there. It's not all safe that looks glamorous." The warning was acknowledged with a nod and smile. Liz waved and made her way out of the bar.

The moment she stepped into the humid air outside and heard the door shut behind her, she felt Red's warmth next to her.

"What did she say?" He was leaning against the brick wall, with his fedora pulled rather deeply into his face.

"I am sure you heard every word of it."

"Did she tell you something private?"

"Again: I am sure you heard every word of our conversation."

After such a long time working with Red, Liz normally didn't bother to get defensive anymore when Red tried to question her in a very insensitive way, but this time was different. Somehow she felt like she had the right to snap at him and be difficult.

"Did she mention a family."

"Stop it, Red." Liz snapped angrily. "What am I to you now? A cheap way of gathering information? A pimp? What? I don't mind working with you but I refuse to be your pawn or footboy or whatever you have me for."

She stalked off, without waiting for a reaction. She was fuming inside and she reluctantly and wirh disgust admitted to herself that she was simply jealous of the attention Red was giving Bethany. There was nothing special about her. On second thought, there was nothing special about herself either and he seemed to have some twisted interest in her. Maybe Bethany was supposed to be the center of a new project? Liz shuddered at this thought. _No, Red wouldn't do that_, she thought to herself. _He wouldn't just discard me like a used toy. He is not Tom, he is not Tom, he is not Tom, he is notTom, he is not…. _

"Liz!" Red's serious tone halted her in her tracks and she stood stock still, waiting for him to catch up with her. He wasn't rushing. Slowly he stepped next to her, circled her ones, then twice like a predator would its prey and finally stood still in front of her and Liz felt the air around her sizzle with electrcity. This was not a good sign. Not at all. "What is going on, Lizzie?"

"Nothing." Still defiant and stubborn, she refused to tell him what bothered her.

"It doesn't seem like nothing."

"It IS nothing, now stop asking questions and let's go back to the hotel."

Red stepped in her way and his hands shot to her arms, holding on tightly, but not tightly enough to leave a bruise. Liz gasped in surprise anyway and felt a drop of sweat roll over the side of her face.

"What is wrong, Elizabeth." His voice got sharp and there was no doubt, that he wouldn't take a no for an answer.

Liz kept her tongue behind her teeth, but her eyes grew a little bit bigger when the realization struck her like a ton of sand. He was not concerned for her but for what Bethany had potentially told her. She felt the tension in his body, the hard eyes and his hands burning her skin. She smiled mirthlessly, breaking out of his hold.

"There is no problem at all, Red. Your little friend in there seems to be perfectly innocent and nice, so there shouldn't be anything standing in your way to meet her personally and start to groom another pawn. Soon you will have a whole chess game of your own. Congratulations."

Once again she didn't wait for his answer, walked around him and left him standing alone on the streets full of happy people. But this time she wouldn't have stopped, even if he had called out to her. The way her mind had interpreted his behavior was hardened by the fact that Red didn't bother following her.

_Half an hour later…_

Liz walked up and down the streets she had been walking on with Red to get to the bar. To avoid a meeting by chance, she kept to the shadows and from time to time took a side trip into a deserted shop. Although the hour was late, there were still some open shops and a lot of people rushing around her. She could see the people, hear them and feel them, even smell them but she felt completely alone. Briefly, she wondered if someone would even miss her if she just disappeared and never came back, but the answer came to her swiftly. Red would. Because he didn't finish his chess game with her as a chess piece. He couldn't afford to lose her.

The air was humid and she thought she could smell rain in the air. Nice. A fitting weather to her mood.

As she walked by a run down gift shop, a little wooden box caught her eye. She drew nearer and stretched her hand out for it. Her fingertips made contact with the smooth surface and her index finger traced the form of a painted flower on the box.

"It's a music box." Came a heavily accented voice from behind her and made her jump.

"I am sorry. I did not want to scare you, Miss."

An older woman with gray hair stood there and smiled brightly at Liz. Liz smiled reluctantly back and motioned to the music box. "Can I…ehm…can I open it?"

The lady nodded friendly at her and watched Liz take the box carefully into her hands and open it slowly. A little ballerina on a tiny mirror started to dance to a quiet, soft music emerging from the inside of the music box and Liz' eyes closed involuntarily. It was the same melody Red had built into his music box, the same melody her father had hummed to her when she was a child. Red had offered to transfer the medium sized box to her house but she had told him to wait until she got all of Tom's things out. Now she wouldn't accept his offer anymore. Not after this day. Her eyes were still closed and she recognized embarrassment in between the anger. She had acted like a petulant child, who didn't get the full attention from her parent. Her eyes blinked open and a rosy hue appeared on her cheeks. _Or like a neglected, jealous lover. Oh god… _Liz groaned lowly in her throat and the woman laid a soft hand on her forearm.

"You can have the box. The music seems to mean a lot to you."

Liz startled out of her daze and blinked dumbly at the old lady.

"What? No…no…I will pay you for it." She snapped the box close, missing already the beautiful song, and reached into her handbag, producing money just a few minutes later.

"How much?" she asked, still searching for more money.

"Five dollars is enough, dear." The woman looked at the money in Liz' hand and reached out for them.

Since the box was obviously handmade, Liz was sure it was worth more but she wasn't up for an argument right now. She smiled and handed the woman the money.

"Thank you so much. I owe you." She whispered and once again smiled at the woman sweetly and turned on her heel and left with the music box pressed to her chest.

_Three hours after they left the bar…_

Red was pacing the floor in his hotel room. He was worried. Not because Liz hadn't returned yet, he knew exactly where she was anyway. Her phone was transmitting a perfectly strong signal to his handy program on his laptop. No, this wasn't why he was wearing a hole into the floor. What was making his gut clench was the fact that she had run of in the first place. This behavior was something she used to do in the beginning of their working relationship but she had stopped doing it once she started to trust him.

This situation was a major setback and he didn't even know exactly what had happened. Liz knew he wanted information. She had worked with him often enough to know how this worked, how he ticked. So what had made her so furious? Between sitting with him at the table and coming out of the bar, something must have happened that had rattled Liz' cage immensely. He thought deeply and came up with the conclusion that Bethany couldn't have said anything that would make her mad at him. She didn't even know he existed…yet. Or did she? Maybe she had recognized him? Red stopped walking, but just a second later shook his head and resumed the tireless marching. _No need to brood over things I have no control over and most importantly no evidence of._

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt, when he heard the door in the room next to his click and shut. Shuffling and a happy whine from Hudson was the next thing he registered and now he had to make a choice. Go over or not go over?

tbc...

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Please let me know what ya think;)


	4. Chapter 4

Honestly guys, I am so sorry for the long wait but I have to tell you that either I am at the beginning stages of a writer's block or this story just doesn't like me.

You know this feeling when you know the general direction of you story and what you want to write but you just can't find the words? And if you find them you don't like them?

I had MASSIVE problems with that here. It's crazy.

I didnt write as much as I originally wanted to but it's better than nothing, right?;)

I really hope it's not too bad and that you guys will honestly tell me what ya think!

P.S. A BIG thank you too all those who take the time to review! Means the world to me!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 4

Hudson was relaxing on the bed with all four paws stretched far away from him and his head on one of the fluffy pillows. The room had grown dark, after Dembe had walked him to the nearest park, played catch with him and finally brought him back into the hotel room. Soon after Red's voice could be heard through the door. When Hudson heard Liz' name, his ears peeked and his tail started to wag but sadly Liz did not come through the door to scratch him behind the ears and talk to him. So he had jumped on the bed and made himself comfortable for a long wait.

When the entrance door finally started to open, Hudson was off the bed and storming to Liz, who was coming in with slumped shoulders.

"Hey boy, how are you? Did you miss me much? Did ya?" She crooned while scratching Hudson's head. Walking to her bed, Liz threw her hand back on it and after a few seconds she turned her back to the bad and let herself fall onto it too. She felt Hudson rubbing against her leg, but she didn't have the strength to do anything else except for lying there and looking at the ceiling…and open the music box, which she had carefully cradled against her chest, with one hand. The soft melody started playing and Liz listened for a few minutes to it. When she started to feel her eyelids getting heavy, she crawled further up the bed and without covering herself, fell instantly into a deep and dreamless sleep.

An hour went by and Liz hadn't stirred from her sprawled position, still holding the now mute music box in her hand. The adjoining door opened slowly and Red slipped into the room quietly. His eyes wandered around the room, finding their resting space on Liz' body. A soft smile played with Red's mouth when he saw Hudson's head on her stomach and the dog's body pressed against her thigh. Red took a step forward, making Hudson's head leave its human pillow and wag his tail.

"Good boy." Red whispered. "You're protecting our Liz, right?"

The dog seemed to nod and sprang down from the bad to find a toy Red would maybe use to play with him. Red ignored him though. He had sat down on the bed and watched Liz' face, her slowly moving chest and her hand, tightly encircled around a wooden box. He leaned forward and examined it as good as he could, with her hand around it. He could see a small figurine peeking from under her hand and he realized what it was.

"Oh Lizzie…" he breathed and dropped a small kiss on her cheek. His lips lingered for a second longer, until he pulled away slowly and grasped the blanket, which was lying next to her. Gently he covered Liz' body and tucked the blanket under her chin.

"Sweet dreams, darling."

Carefully Red retreated from Liz sleeping form, patted Hudson on the hand and returned to his room.

_Next morning…_

Red was woken up by a knock on his door. Instantly he was wide awake and calling out to the person knocking.

"Come in, Dembe. I am decent."

Only a fraction of a second later, Dembe stood at his bed and frowned.

"I though you would be having breakfast by now with Miss Keen."

While Red stood up and stretch luxuriously, he shook his head.

"Lizzie has returned rather late in the evening and has fallen asleep by the time I went in to check on her. I though it for the best to let her rest. She still seemed a little bit…distraught."

Dembe's frown deepened even further. He knew about their fall out last evening but he hadn't thought it would be that serious. Elizabeth had been quiet comfortable with Red's presence in her life and he couldn't imagine what had changed that in a matter of minutes. From what Red had told him, she had been fine talking to Bethany and there was no way she would have recognized Red and told Liz about who she was. But even if she had, Elizabeth shouldn't have reacted this way.

"I told you to tell her immediately when you found out, Raymond." Dembe's deep voice resonated from wall to wall and Red shuddered. Red was a professional liar but to himself he was brutally honest and now he had to accept the fact that his friend was right. It may have spared Lizzie and himself a lot of heartache.

"You are right, but you also know why I haven't told her. If this doesn't work out, we will have to face disappointment and pain and Lizzie had enough of this for a while."

Dembe nodded and waited till Red came back, dressed and cleaned up from the bathroom twenty minutes later. "How do you want to proceed?" he asked calmly.

Red sighed heavily, sitting down in a blue chair.

"I will tell her about the role Bethany plays in this whole thing but I can't tell her what the goal is. It may scare her off. She may think that our collaboration might end at this point."

"She may think that already."

Red licked his lips nervously and looked away from Dembe.

"She should know better."

Dembe shook his head in frustration. He wondered if Red actually didn't know that Miss Elizabeth was a very sensitive person who in contrast to Red himself, let her emotions take the better of her sometimes. She wasn't thinking rationally when it came to feelings and the people she was closest too. Tom had known it and used it shamelessly. Red sometimes tended to forget that others weren't as thick skinned as he had become over the years. Dembe only hoped for all of them that Red would realize that before it was too late.

"If you wish, I can go wake her."

Maybe it was better for both of them to take a little break from each other. At least for this morning.

"No." Red declined the offer in a heartbeat. "I will do it. Maybe she will be ready to talk to me today."

He sauntered confidently to the adjoining door and knocked. No sound came from the other room and he looked back at Dembe. He shrugged and turned back around, opening the door and going in.

Dembe heaved a sigh and leaned back against the wall, waiting for the screaming to start.

_xxxxxxxxx_

"Wakey, wakey, sunshine." Red gushed, watching Liz stir. She actually hadn't moved a lot from the position he had left her in last night.

"What are you doing here?" Liz slurred still half asleep and squinting at the man standing over her. He smiled broadly and cocked his head to the side, regarding her for a moment.

"I came to wake you. You came back very late last night and I let you sleep in for a few more hours. But now I am hungry. I saw those delicious looking pretzels at the buffet last time I visited and I am hoping that they didn't scratch them from the menu."

Slowly Liz' brain started to work and the fact that Red was standing in her bedroom and that she was officially still angry with him came back to her and she was sure that he wanted to know what was going on more than anything right now.

"I don't want to talk about it." Liz remarked emotionlessly. "And get out of my room. I want to change." Her cold tone didn't surprise Red but he was taken aback by the hostility in it. It was a long time since he heard it from her the last time. His eyes became cloudy and his body grew tense.

"We **will **talk about this incident, Lizzie. And I won't accept a no." They stared at each other, neither wanting to back down but when Red saw something looking suspiciously like tears in her eyes, he relaxed his posture and smiled.

"But first, we will eat. I am famished and I am sure that you are too. I assume you haven't been eating any dinner yesterday?" When Liz shook her head, Red leaned down and patted her arm. "Hurry up. Dembe and I will wait in my room for you."

Once the door was closed behind Red, Liz climbed out of her bed and stemmed her hand on her hips. She couldn't decide if she was still angry at Red or just disappointed and resigned to accept the facts as they came. The low voices in Red's room grew louder and finally she moved. She dragged her feet all the way to the closet and flung the doors open unenthusiastically. All those foreign materials made her stomach feel uneasy, but she finally let her hand reach out for a hanger in the middle and out came a ridiculously short black shirt, matched perfectly with a modern suit jacket and obviously tight leather pants. What did Red want to dress her like? An escort?

A deep sigh left her, while she closed the closet and wandered slowly into the bathroom to change. Only a short time later she emerged from it and searched for shoes she could wear to the outfit. Finding only high heels and nothing she would ever describe as comfortable she actually accepted the fact that the dream of a vacation with Red was only that…a dream. For a moment she had allowed her mind to take a break and believed in something she must have wished for in the deepest and darkest corner of her soul. _Well…now I know better. What would he want with a divorced, too young and often bad tempered woman whose family history is as shattered as my heart is?_

The dark thoughts accompanied her while she was dressing herself, when she finished and went out to find Hudson's leash and still when she, looking calm and collected, entered Red's room.

"I need to walk Hudson before we have breakfast." She didn't want to wait for Red to have the chance to react, so she made a beeline for the door, failing in her quest to escape, when a dark hand enveloped her own, in which she was holding the leash.

"I will walk him. I already ate. You must be hungry."

Liz couldn't tell if it was a genuine offer by Dembe or if Red had silently ordered him to do so, but what she did know was that the word "no" would not be accepted. From either one of the men.

So she gave up the leash to him and watched them go through the door and waving goodbye in Hudson's direction who was looking back at her, albeit not looking very sad. _Traitor_, she though amused by the affections Dembe bestowed her dog with. She had to find a puppy for Dembe's next birthday.

Her unpleasant thoughts came back instantly, when she felt Red stepping up behind her and her body stiffened slightly. She was aware of the fact that Red wouldn't let the situation be as it was and finally force her to talk to him. She could as well get it over with right now and not wait till after breakfast. She wouldn't be able to eat anything anyway if the atmosphere between them continued to get worse by the minute.

"You wanna talk? Then talk." She demanded. No need to make it too easy on him though.

Red simply looked at her, standing behind her, burning her with his body heat.

"What?!" Liz napped while turning around angrily.

"Whoa..Easy." Red laughed, holding Liz' arms in his hands. "I thought we should eat first but since this situation is getting a little bit ridiculous, maybe we should talk now and believe me, I really just want to talk, sweetheart. Something was bothering you yesterday and I am certain now that it still is. What is it?"

Liz kept silent and just stared at him.

"Did you not like Beth?"

Liz almost swayed with surprise. Beth?

"How did you know she would want to be called Beth?"

Red titled his head and inhaled deeply. Time for the truth.

"Do you want to sit down, darling?"

"I don't want to sit down, Red. I want to know what's going on. I am really tired of all those secrets, all the hush hush around me. Just be honest with me. Who is this girl?"

Red was bobbing on the balls of his feet and clasping his hands behind his back. He looked more serious than Liz had seen him since…since the Tom fiasco.

"She is almost your age…a month older than you are, to be precise." Red smirked, relaxing his posture and walking back to his bed, where he sat down before he spoke again. "So I would describe her rather as a woman than a girl."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Maybe."

Liz snorted. "It was a lame one. Just so you know."

He laughed and the tension was broken. He patted the space next to him, encouraging her to sit down. Reluctantly she walked over to him, sitting down in a respective distance. _This damn charm of his…_

"What is bothering you, Lizzie?"

When there was no answer forthcoming, he looked her directly into the eyes and sighed.

"You are very stubborn, my dear. I think you've learned too much from me already."

Liz smiled.

"Altight." He suddenly said rather loudly, making her jump.

"Beth was my daughter's best friend. They were born in the same hospital and have known each other since they were two months old. A beautiful friendship they had but when my girl vanished…so did Beth. Actually, her name was Kristin at that time. " He paused, seemingly thinking about his next words. "After I grieved and raged, my attention was drawn to the fact that Beth and her parents disappeared also. It is quiet strange, you have to admit it, Lizzie."

"It really is." Liz' hated it to hear the hurt in Red's voice when he talked about his familie's disappearance. Sometimes it felt as if her own heart was breaking when she saw his eyes cloud over with sadness and agony.

"I can't let this go, Liz. I have to find out why they moved."

It wasn't a lie. He did want to find out why they moved but that a side issue. Only to satisfy his curiosity he would finally ask her why they moved. But what he really needed to know he already did. Kristin…or Beth was his free ticket to his peace of mind.

"I do understand what you are saying, Red. And I really can understand why you are doing this, but you know what my problem is?" Liz waited for a second, wanting to see if Red would react somehow. When he didn't, she continued, hurt creeping into her voice. "My problem is that you don't trust me enough to be honest with me. I thought you knew I would help you in any way I could to find out the truth about your family."

She looked pleadingly at him, not knowing how to make him understand.

"I guess I was mistaken to think this was a partnership. That's why I was hurt. You used me as some kind of informant and you will continue doing this until someday you will find or get what you are looking for and then I will be of no interest to you anymore. I am just disappointed that the trust I'd imagined was really only a play for you." This confession was enough for now and ever. Never would Liz dare confessing her growing feelings for him now. She could play this game of half-truths too.

"That's not true, Lizzie."

Liz heard a tremor in Red's voice. Could he really mean it? Or was he just lying so very gracefully again.

They sat there for a while quietly. Neither knowing what to say. When they heard Dembe's footfalls, Liz stood up, being held back from going any further though, by Red's hand on her wrist.

"No matter what happens, Elizabeth, know this: I will never knowingly jeopardy what we have."

Liz searched his eyes for something more. Some seed of hope that he actually meant what he said, but she was disturbed by Dembe opening the door and Hudson running to her.

"Hey Hudson!" she greeted her dog, crouching down so she could be at his eye level. "Did you have fun? Yes, you had I can see that."

Red and Dembe exchanged meaningful looks over Liz' head and Red shook his head. No, he hadn't told her everything and no, this problem was far from being solved. There was nothing he could do for now though.

"Are we ready to go eat? My stomach feels like a dried out well." He smacked his lips for good measure and sauntered past them all to the door, leaving Dembe and Liz to follow him, which of course they did.

_Three hours later…_

"Red, I really don't want to do that. I mean when the times comes and you confront her with all your questions, what will she think of me? She'll think I'm a complete idiot, using her. And believe me, I know how that feels."

"I will not confront her." Red tried to calm her. "At least, not right now. Just don't forget to ask her about her moving as a child. Just don't give her too much information."

Liz ran both hands through her dark, thick hair, rolling her head to loosen up the tense muscles in her neck and finally let her arms fall to her sides and glared at Red.

"I have no idea why I have to wear such things. She seems perfectly friendly and I don't think she would mind my usual clothes."

Pointing down at herself and the tight leather pants she was wearing, a beginning of a sneer started to form on her face but she stopped herself. It would do no good at all right now.

"You still want to be her friend." Red admonished calmly.

Liz was in mere seconds turned around with a huff and walked to the entrance of the bar.

"And I like to watch you in it." Red added in an afterthought and with a smile, when Liz had already had vanished from his sight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The "Little Hell Hole" was filled with smoke so thick, that Liz had to force herself not to wave her hand frantically in front of her face to fight through it. Her eyes began to sting and tears gathered in them. She coughed once, then twice and suddenly an idea popped into her mind. She covered a satisfied smile with one hand and started coughing again. Finally, after what seemed to her like an eternity, she reached the bar and Beth. The woman was once again washing glasses and immediately recognized Liz, when she saw her.

"Hey sweetheart. I didn't expect you back so soon." Beth drawled, leaning down and smiling at Liz.

"Hey…" Liz couldn't help but cough again, which made Beth chuckle.

"Well…you will have to get used to this stench if you want to visit me more often."

Liz forced her breath to slow, but still breathing in huffs and puffs and looked into Beth's eyes.

"Could we…ehm…could we go out for a minute. I kinda don't feel well."

The dark haired woman drew her brows together in concern and threw the towel she had in her hands on the table behind her. Liz recognized the worry on her face as genuine concern and a small part of her felt even bad for doing this but the bigger part of her was still delighted by the sheer greatness of this spontaneous plan.

"Yeah..let's get you out of here." Beth came around the bar, grasping Liz' elbow and helped her to navigate through the crowed of men.

"Do you have asthma or something?"

"No…"

"Alright, here we go. Here's the door."

Beth led Liz out of the bar, closed the door behind them with a bang and leaned her against the wall.

"Take deep breaths. It most definitely is an asthma attack or an allergic reaction to the smoke. It should pass in a moment."

Liz groaned and bent forward, with her head almost touching her knees, when both women heard hurried footsteps coming their way.

Liz felt Red's presence immediately and looked up into his concerned gaze. His hand were pushing Beth to the side, while he was already starting to haunch over to be at Liz' eye level.

"Darling, are you ok? What happened?"

"Yeah." Liz pressed out. "It's getting better."

Red's left hand stayed on her shoulder, when he straightened himself to look at Beth.

"What happened?" His voice held a strange mixture of softness and hardness in it when he demanded an answer from her.

"Who are you again?" Beth asked cheekily, putting her right arm out to brace herself against the wall.

"Someone from your past."

Liz stood up properly and leaned her back against the wall behind her.

"I'm ok now. It was just the smoke."

Red put his face inches from her own and narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything, until he straightened up again and turned to Beth.

"I think we may be in need of a private location."

"What for…" Beth's voice shook slightly, when she became aware of Dembe hovering nearby.

"To talk."

tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Hey there guys:)

I am telling you now that the next story will be MOST DEFINATELY an action story! This fluff thing is sooooo hard to write and at this point I wanna give my outmost respect to ALL of the authors who are writing those kind of fanfictions! LOVE to read them but I just CAN'T write them;)

That said I wanna tell ya that I tried to put in some aspects of the finale but since I haven't seen it yet myself I think I might have changed some things about it but well...that's why it is called FANFICTION, right;)

**THANK YOU ALL** for reviewing and all the fav's and follow's. You really keep me writing this story, cause otherwise I would have abandoned it a long time ago already;)

So here you go with the next chapter and have fun with it:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 5

The group of four people made their way back into the bar, but steered in direction of the small office in the back of the main saloon.

"Go on in there, I just have to find my colleague to take my place at the bar."

Liz, Red and Dembe watched the woman hurry away until Red sighed and opened the door behind them, motioning both his companions inside, before he followed them into the small room himself. The room was stuffy and chaotic and overfilled with furniture. Paperwork was lying around almost everywhere and the desk in the far corner of the room was almost invisible under multiple stacks of folders. In addition the office was so poorly lit that Liz' eyes needed a few moments to get used to her darkened surroundings.

"Do you fancy telling me why you did this, Lizzie?" Red's voice suddenly met her eardrums like thunder, although he was more whispering than speaking in a normal tome. She knew this tone. This husky, dangerous calm before the storm. For her it has always been more exciting than scary though.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Red."

Liz' blue eyes grew round and her lips stuck out slightly in an adorable pout, though she lost the fight against a satisfied grin and the corners of her mouth started to turn up slightly. Red's humorless laugh made her flinch back slightly and she wished to disappear suddenly, when he came nearer, still looking into her eyes and starting to circle her slowly. Something was different about him this time.

"Lizzie…" he whispered into her ear. "I know you are for some reason displeased with something I did…" he stopped and took in a breath. "but you have to realize my dear, that I do not tolerate people playing with me." The last few words were not much more than a breeze in Liz' ear and she shivered. She was completely aware of the fact that Red would never harm her but this display of malice made her uncomfortable anyway and it was a first in their relationship.

"Stop playing predator and step back from me… I am starting to feel claustrophobic and if I do, it won't end well for any of us."

To Red's credit, he actually did step back but didn't stop eyeing her. Before he could start talking again, the door opened and Beth came rushing in.

"Now talk. I have exactly 10 minutes before you get me fired from the only job I was able to get for years."

Liz observed a crooked smirk appear on Red's lips and then something happened she never would have anticipated.

Red, without turning to her addressed her with a rather cold tone.

"Would you give us a minute, Lizzie."

Everyone in the room, except Red, could see the color draining out of Liz' face and Red had to hold himself together not to wince at the hurt he felt crashing from her into his back.

"What?" she breathed. Red turned to her, saying his next words in a rush.

"I want Dembe to escort you out of here, while I talk to Beth. I don't want you to get dizzy again. You don't seem to have completely recovered yet." He swung to Dembe and patted his arm.

"Buy her a drink on the way out, will ya my friend? Maybe it will calm her stomach a bit."

Red ignored Dembe's reproachful look.

"Come with me please." Dembe said quietly, grabbing Liz' forearm and practically dragged her out of the room. Liz followed him numbly and stopped only when they reached their car.

"Why is he doing this, Dembe?" her voice quivered dangerously, making Dembe frown in concern. He wasn't trained to comfort emotional women.

"He has his reasons." His hand landed once again on her arm, squeezing gently.

"But that doesn't mean that I always agree with them."

A sad but genuine smile was the reward for his efforts and he almost squealed like a girl when he suddenly found himself with an armful of Elizabeth Keen. Slowly he enveloped her fully into his arms and patted her back awkwardly.

"Everything will be alright." He whispered and felt her nod against his shoulder. He definitely would never get used to comfort emotional women…but maybe he would get used to comfort an emotional Elizabeth Keen.

_In the bar…_

"This is really freaking me out right now." Beth told Red, sitting down near the dor so she could make a quick exit if needed.

"You don't have to worry. You are in no danger. I only want to talk about something very important." Red took his fedora off his head, put it on the desk next to him and took a seat on a little stool. "I am searching for something important. And you may be the only one who can help me find it."

He watched her eyes flitter from one side of the room to the other nervously and he could almost hear her thoughts racing through her head, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"You and your parents once lived in a little house in a suburb of Washington, right?"

The surprise on her face was evident and told Red that she actually remembered living there or her parents simply opted not to lie to her about it.

"You had a best friend. A little girl from next door."

Beth's eyes finally stopped moving and zeroed in on him.

"Yes I did. Like almost every other kid in the states."

Beth jumped in surprise when a sharp laugh escaped Red's throat.

"My daughter was not every other kid. She was special and she was YOUR best friend and I firmly believe that she still IS."

"Your daughter?" Beth sounded more surprised than anything else and stood up, walking hesitantly closer to Red. She looked deeply into his eyes and let her eyes travel over his face, taking every inch in.

"Mr. Reddington?"

Red smiled softly at her, patting her shoulder when she gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"In the flesh my dear."

"Oh my god…I thought…we thought…"

"That I am dead, I know" he interrupted her rambling.

"What I want to know from you is where my daughter is."

"Renee…she…"

"No…" he once again cut her off.

"My daughter's name was not Renee…my wife and I named her after her great grandmother…Lisa."

Beth's eyes filled with tears.

"I haven't heard that name for such a long time." She gushed breathlessly. Her hands wandered to Red's wrists and grasped them strongly, as if she wanted to convince herself that he was real.

"She lives nearby."

"Where."

"She doesn't remember you, you know?"

"I don't care. Where does she live Beth?"

"You remember the little antique shop right beside the central station? She owns it now and she lives in the apartment above the shop."

Red sighed in pleasant surprise. He remembered the shop. Lisa had been there numerous times with him and loved to look at all those pretty things. She had been fascinated by the old furniture and décor and she always had managed to create some kind of story to the objects. One time he remembered her sitting in an overstuffed armchair from the late 30' and she had told him convincingly that it once belonged to a lady called Annabeth who had lived in a cottage in England, where she owned at least three horses, five dogs and two cats. But then she had been betrayed by her husband and had to give away all her belongings, including the armchair which somehow ended up in Mexico. If Red had given her more time, he was sure she would have come up with a story of the chair's journey too, but he had been in a rush and already more than late for a meeting. What he would give right now to hear the story now…

"I can see it in your face that you do remember. Shall I tell her that I met you? That you want to meet her?"

Red shook his head slowly.

"No. I don't know if we should meet. I just want to see her again."

Beth looked at him with a confused look in her eyes.

"You don't want to meet her?"

He chuckled sadly, brudhing his palm over his mouth before speaking quietly.

"I don't want to intrude into her life. As you said, she doesn't remember me. I just recently made the experience that me coming into someone's life can actually ruin it and finally make them hate me. I wouldn't want this for anyone else. I pride myself to learn from my own mistakes."

"You are talking about Liz, right?"

Again Red laughed, but this time with more humor in it.

"You are still a very smart girl, you know that?"

The woman smiled and blushed a little.

"Thanks but this smart girl here has to tell you that Liz doesn't look like her life has been ruined and certainly not as if she hates you."

Red's brows drew up in surprise and he titled his head to the side when Beth suddenly laughed.

"Oh man…you don't have a clue what's going on, do you?"

Red stood up, walking slowly to the still laughing woman.

"You want to tell me what I am oblivious to?"

Beth pretended to think about her answer while she fished for a piece of paper and a pencil on the table, scribbling something down on it once she had found it.

"No…it's a woman thing and you boys have to find it out on your own…honestly…"

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a man's voice calling for Beth.

"Oh shoot…I have to go do some work, Mr. Reddington."

"Alright. Do me a favor and don't tell Lisa I am around, alright?"

Beth seized him up from head to toe and finally made her descision. She handed him the paper, where a number was written down, with the name Beth under it.

"Ok, but only if you promise me to be little bit nicer to Liz and to call me. I am curious about your whereabouts over the years."

Red smirked but looked a bit confused.

"I AM nice to her."

Beth didn't seem to mind him not commenting on him calling her.

"Well…then don't be angry for her faking the asthma attack."

"You knew?"

Beth smirked at him over her shoulder and opened the door.

"I am a smart girt, remember?"

_Outside the bar…_

Red stepped out of the bar, throwing his head back into his neck and inhaled deeply. The spicy night air tickled the back of his throat and he cleared it, while closing his eyes. One step…only one step further and he would finally see his daughter again. After so many years, after such a long search…finally the reward in an arm's reach. Red could feel his heart skip a beat in excitement and anticipation.

"Mr. Reddington?"

Dembe's voice startled him and he felt slightly embarrassed about it.

"Where is she."

"In the car."

Red looked at his friend in surprise.

"Do I hear an accusatory tone there, Dembe?"

For a moment both man stared into each other's eyes, until Dembe finally spoke.

"It wasn't necessary to send her away."

Red bit out a harsh, short laugh.

"She TRICKED me Dembe. For god's sake, she pretended to be sick or injured, only to destroy my plan and give me a wipe. I killed for less."

A tense moment went by before Red's eyes left Dembe's but he didn't say anything and left his friend with the ball in court.

"Mr. Reddington." Dembe finally started. "I would strongly suggest you tell her the truth. Fast."

It wasn't exactly what Red had thought Dembe would say but he nodded anyway. Not in agreement but in acknowledgment. He watched him walk back to their car and followed him in a slow pace.

Letting himself slide into the car next to Liz, Red huffed and turned to the woman beside him.

"I know you had a reason for doing this and viewing the fact that I am holding information back from you so many times, I guess I should cut you some slack but don't mistake my generosity for something reoccurring for a very long amount of time. My patience has limits, you know?"

Liz didn't answer and didn't look at him. He didn't need to spell out for her that he thought she was behaving like a child but it was something she couldn't stop doing when it came to him and his plans. Somehow they always made her either lose her temper or made her pout uncontrollably. So out of embarrassment and also disappointment, she kept her mouth shut and her head turned away from him. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the car start and move from the parking spot but unfortunately, Red wasn't done talking yet.

"I am really trying to understand you, Lizzie. It must be hard for you to…"

"No…you do NOT understand."

"Then help me understand."

Liz felt his gaze on her but she stubbornly turned her face even further away from him.

"I don't think you want to understand me, Red. And it is just too complicated right now anyway and I don't want you distracted from finding answers to your daughter's death."

Silence fell over them and the only thing heard was the hum of the car and the swishing of cars driving by until Liz cleared her throat and started to speak again.

"If you want me to go back to DC, don't waste time for finding an appropriate excuse to not hurt my feelings. I have stuff to do there anyway so if I am disturbing your…"

"You're staying."

It was more an order than a statement but Liz simply accepted it…for now at least. Her own curiosity of what Red had found about his daughter was too overwhelming to not obey him. And there was this thing she had developed about being alone. It felt just wrong and Red was normally the perfect company for her. Never a dull moment with him…never enough time to fall into this black hole filled with unwelcomed thoughts that would drown her should she fall inside.

"I want Beth to know who I am, Red. I actually like her and don't want to lie to her." She finally said. Red eyed her skeptically but didn't argue with her. After a moment he took a deep breath and spoke while exhaling

"It's your choice, Lizzie. I won't talk with her about you if you don't wish me to, but if you want to be her friend…by all means…I will give you her cell number."

"You have her number? After such a short time talking with her?" when no answer was given, since Red seemed to believe this question to be a rhetorical one, Liz scoffed at him.

"You surely don't waste any time and only to your information: YOU will tell her the truth. It's your mess and you will clean it up, ok?"

Both fell silent again. The atmosphere in the car became dense and hard to bare and everyone wished for Dembe to drive faster, which of course he didn't.

When they finally arrived back at the hotel, Liz bolted out of the car and into the hotel, without waiting for the men. The mere thought of discussing her problem with Red made her stomach turn over and her head feel as if a marching band was playing a never-ending beat on her brain. No…she was better off avoiding the topic and better yet Red altogether.

Red on the other hand was dying to find out what has gotten into her. After the cryptic comment from Beth, he felt a little bit dumb for not being able to understand Liz' behavior, when a stranger apparently found out in only a few minutes what was going on. His feelings for Lizzie were undoubtingly of an inappropriate nature and he would never want to make her uncomfortable by telling her how he felt. So what was her problem? Did she find out about his growing attraction to her? In this case she would already be gone, Red assumed, scoffing at himself. Was she just jealous of his attention for other woman because she was single now? No…Lizzie wasn't that self-centered. Maybe she was suffering from PMS? Nope…not that time of the month yet.

" , do you want to go into the hotel or do you plan a visit to another bar?" Dembe's voice cut through his contemplations, making him hum as an answer.

"So, we go in?"

"Yeah, but we're gonna make a stop at the hotel bar. I need something strong to help me think."

An hour and ten minutes later, Red entered his dark hotel room and closed the door softly behind him. The alcohol was still tingling in his throat and made his stomach feel warm and his limbs relaxed. Throwing his hat on a table at the wall, he started to undress slowly. When he had his dress shirt down to his elbows, he looked into the mirror, turning around slightly to see his back. Scars were crisscrossing his whole back, and every time he looked at them he would swear that he could feel the flames burning into his flesh all over again. Although the scars didn't hurt anymore, his brain remembered all too well how it felt to be almost burned alive. But at the same time it remembered how it felt to safe a little girls live and almost instantly the pain vanished and only a warm ache in his heart stayed. It was worth the pain he had had to endure for months while recovering. It had been worth the nightmares….just to see the child grow into a beautiful and smart woman. See her thrive under the protective wings of Sam and himself. Red had never planned to meet and work with her so closely. If Berlin hadn't started to mingle in Red's business, he never would have even thought of endangering his protégé…his little secret. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and he did meet her. After constructing a plan for over a year how to play his cards, how to make her trust him. With a little help from Tom Keen, he finally did get her trust but that brought another problem with it. The more she trusted him, the more she confided in him and the more time they spent together, laughing, joking, dining and just enjoying themselves, Red's feelings grew from fondness and protectiveness to admiration and from admiration to something he didn't dare to put in words even in his own head. It complicated things. It made him even more vulnerable. He was losing his focus constantly, just to catch every intake of breath she made, to not miss any gesture or god forbid one of her smiles.

Red sighed, pulling his sleep-shirt over his head, he entered the bathroom, leaving it after ten minutes again, still deep in thought.

He was able to pinpoint when her behavior had started to change. It was only a few weeks after she had shot Tom. Red had noticed Liz withdrawing into herself, getting more self-conscious and avoiding large crowds. She was still doing her job outstandingly well, but Red didn't want to acknowledge the problem presenting itself to all of them. Liz was starting to slip into a depression and she had strangely chosen Red to anchor her, so she wouldn't fall even deeper into a hole that was threatening to swallow her. But how could he help her, besides trying to take her mind off of Tom and her loneliness, by dragging her from blacklister to blacklister and on a vacation which really wasn't one. Taking her with him was mostly an act of desperation on his part. Red was scared to leave her alone in DC, not knowing how long he would be gone and not trustin anyone to take care of her. Liz being here in Mexico with him meant for her to eventually finding out that his daughter was alive and along the lines her mind worked right now, she would imagine god knows what scenarios of him abandoning her, which of course would never happen.

Red turned onto his left side in bed and kicked the thin sheet off the bed. The stifling heat was making his head feel like mush and his thoughts jumble up. Liz had become his number one priority over the last year and nothing would change that. Of course he wanted to see his daughter but Liz was….well she was Lizzie. For so many years he was driven by revenge for his families' death and suddenly Liz came into his life and although she had stabbed him with a pen into his neck, his heart started to mend the old wounds from the time he laid eyes on her when she came back into his cell, having found Tom's fake passports.

He turned around again, lying on his other side now and closed his eyes in hope to finally find sleep, but Dembe's words came back into his mind, almost mocking him.

_"She may think that already."_

_"It wasn't necessary to send her away."_

For the first time in a very long while Raymond Reddington felt stupid and heartless for something he had done.

tbc...

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Please let me know what you think...I need reassurance...I am really nervous about this whole story! BTW; if you have some wishes for the story, let me know:)


	6. Chapter 6

Hallo to all of you:)

An update a bt quicker this time:)

We are nearing the end here. Maybe one or two chapters left;)

Hope you'll like the new chapter and leave a review to let me know what you think:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 6

When morning came and the sun slowly rose over Mexico City, Red still hadn't found even a wink of sleep. This whole situation was just madness and for the Concierge of Crime complete new territory. It was years ago since he had to pace himself in his actions in order to protect someone's feelings. After his wife's death there were only one night stands, "business meetings" and funny rolls in the hay. Nothing serious enough to want to actually please the woman not only in bed but also emotionally. And his relationship with Liz, though not of a sexual kind, was all about emotions, which sometimes were a bigger challenge for him than any kind of master plan he ever attempted to create.

When the clock pointed out to him that it was 6 a.m. he decided to get up and just start the day and hopefully get to the bottom of Liz' behavior.

A shower and a snack in form of nuts later, he was neatly dressed in a shiny gray three piece suit and quietly knocking on Liz' door. To his surprise, she actually answered and called him in.

"Good morning, sunshine." He stuck his head into the room and smiled at the sight. Liz was standing in fornt of the bed, stretching her arms above her head and pulling in turns at her hands, so that her arms stretched in an arch to the left and right. Her sleep tussled hair was sticking in more than just two directions and looked adorable in Red's eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Red. Sleep well?"

Red was surprised to hear Liz actually talking to him in such a nice manner after yesterday, so he scratched all his courage together and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Not really. I didn't sleep for one second, but I'll live. Besides, it gives the day an interesting sort of feel when you haven't slept. Almost like on pain meds. Makes me creative." He watched her starting to frown and smiled at her. "And you? Since you're doing some sort of yoga I gather you did sleep."

"It's not yoga." She answered tersely. "I am just stretching my arms. Hudson slept on my left arm and the muscles are a bit tight this morning."

Out of it's own volition, Red's legs moved into her direction and his hands reached out for her shoulders. Although she was giving him a strange look, she let herself be turned with the back to him and actually enjoyed the first seconds of Red's massage. But suddenly her brain awakened again and the event of the previous day rushed back into her mind.

"Red…"

"Just enjoy it."

"No…Red…"

She shook his hands off her shoulder and turned around to face him. It surprised her to see hurt in his eyes but she was still too annoyed.

"You didn't want me in the room yesterday, so you shouldn't want to touch me right now either, don't you think?" Instantly the atmosphere grew cold and Red's frustration was so evident that Liz could almost taste it.

"It's not that I didn't want you there. It was just better for you to not hear what I had to discuss with Beth. You should know by now that I would never do anything to hurt you, Lizzie."

"No…no….it's not that you don't do what would hurt me…you do what you THINK is right for me. But it's NOT. You are not always right, damn it." Liz was breathing hard and clenched her fists at her side.

Hudson whined pitifully, jumped from the bed and attempted to crawl under the bed, but only managed to stuck his head under it. Liz sighed and kneeled down, patting Hudson's back.

"I'm sorry Hudson. Mommy didn't mean to yell. It wasn't at you anyway." Her tone had changed into a husky and comforting whisper, that made Red's heart ache with sorrow. She shouldn't have to kneel there and apologies to her dog. She shouldn't have to yell in the first place.

"Listen to me, sweetheart." Red sat down on her bed, hoping that this posture wouldn't come across as intimidating as standing stock still and straight.

"I don't want to. I just want to be left in peace. Please?"

Red gulped wearily, smacking his lips and closing his eyes. Liz wasn't looking at him, still playing with the dogs fur. He would let it go for now. Pushing her wouldn't lead to anything good.

"I was planning to go out for breakfast today. I gather you won't be joining Dembe and myself?" his voice conveyed a degree of disappointment but also plain resignation. She had won this round. Again. AT least she though so.

"No I won't. I am not very hungry. Maybe I'll grab a snack from downstairs."

Red nodded silently, stood up and walked to the door.

"Make sure you eat something. It's not healthy to skip so many meals." When there was no answer coming, he preceded with his way out, throwing a quiet "See you later." Over his shoulder and closed the door.

Liz sat on the floor, caressing Hudson's head which had emerged from under the bed when the room had fallen eerily silent. "He's so stupid." She whispered into the dog's ear and let her head rest against his strong and warm neck. The fur tickled her cheek but she didn't mind at all. It was nice to feel the warmth of another living being. It was comforting. A few minutes passed and Liz could hear Red rummaging through his room and likely getting dressed. She looked down into Hudson's brown eyes and suddenly she was hit by a thought. Her victory had been too easy. Red was up to something….again. And suddenly another great idea formed in her head..

"I couldn't…" she said to the dog, who in response tried to lick her face.

"I could?..." a smirk started to appear on her face and the spark returned into her eyes.

"Well…you wanna go for a walk buddy?"

_An hour later…_

Red was sitting, with Dembe at his side, at a small table outside a café he normally never would have eaten in. But this pink themed café was located opposite the antiquarian shop and the perfect spot to catch a glimpse of his daughter. He had his sunglasses on and pretended not to stare at the entrance of the shop, but his nerves were as strained as they ever could get. It was almost painful.

He took a bite from his yellow cupcake, but stopped chewing suddenly. His neck started prickling and a hot feeling spread from there over his whole body.

"Dembe?"

"Yes, Raymond."

Red chewed his cupcake and swallowed, finally looking up to his friend.

"Someone is watching us."

He saw Dembe's gaze wander over their surroundings, but he obviously couldn't see anything suspicious, since his eyes would darken in this very unique way when he usually found something.

"I don't see anyone."

"Doesn't mean there is no one."

The comfortable silence turned abruptly terse and uneasy.

For a few more moments Red observed the area around them. An older man was searching for something in a garbage bin, two young women with buggies were walking across the market, talking animatedly and a little boy of maybe ten years was opening the door of the antiquarian shop. Nothing else. Only the birds singing and a faint sound of laughter coming from one of the alleyways.

"I think it would be better if we came back later or tomorrow. I am not willing to risk Lisa's life for merely seeing her for a second."

Although he didn't pull a face while saying this, Dembe could hear the strain in his voice. They waited for another couple of minutes and then both men stood up wordlessly, Red leaving some bills on the table and started to follow Dembe, when suddenly she was standing in front of him.

He knew instantly that it was her. She had changed but her eyes were still the same. Her essence was still the same. Her hair was a mess of golden locks, which reached to her shoulders and her eyes a beautiful green.

"Hello daddy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elizabeth Keen stood in front of the hotel, slightly shadowed by a big bush growing right next to the entrance. She had dressed in record time, put the leash on Hudson's collar and raced down the steps, not bothering to wait for the lift. Should Red get the idea to knock on her door, he would simply assume that she was still angry at him and had locked the door to be alone.

When they reached the entrance, Liz had dragged her dog behind the bush and waited. Red would have never let her that easy off the hook if he hadn't something planned. He didn't want her to be present at the breakfast and Liz wanted to know why. Was he meeting with Beth?

The only way to get an answer right now was to simply follow him. He wasn't expecting anyone to tail him so he would be careless and easy to follow. At least she hoped so. Only ten minutes later she could hear Red's trademark footsteps she would be able to recognize out of a hundred different men. He and Dembe walked to their car and in a matter of seconds they were on their way.

Liz and Hudson sprinted to the street and Liz waved a cab to her, jumping in and telling the driver to follow the black car. The tailing worked out perfectly and when Dembe stopped the car at a little market place, Liz told the driver to go past and park around the corner. Liz paid him generously and made her way back to the market place. She could see Red's fedora like a burgee and followed in a respective distance. When the men steered to a small café, Liz fell back, already searching for a suitable hiding place with a view over the whole area. Only a few meters away she spotted a playground, which looked deserted enough and she made her way there as fast as possible.

The wooden lookout, which was a part of the slide was conquered by Liz and Hudson within seconds and both found themselves lying on their bellies and looking through a small window. Liz saw both men ordering something and looking around. Nothing strange about that but she was sure it would come. Nothing about Red's plans was EVER normal. Suddenly she felt her hiding spot move slightly and her senses registered another presence behind her. Slowly she turned her head and found herself face to face with a rosy-cheeked face of a boy who was staring at her in surprise.

"That's my spot." The missing front tooth made him lisp slightly and Liz narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yeah? Who says that?"

"I do." His short index finger dug into his chest with pride. Liz smirked at him before answering.

"Well…I was here first, so scoot."

She could see the boy's face turning even redder with anger. Obviously, he never had to give something up before. He was one of those kind of kids that had bullied Liz in school. Those kind of kids that stole your breakfast and didn't let you out of the toilette. Those kind of kids that laughed about any imperfection you may display.

She felt the boy climbing back down and heard him run of. For sure to his parents to tell them how mean she had been to him. Oh, get over it. Live is hard and unfair. The faster he learns that the better for him and his future. Liz turned back around and concentrated back on Red and Dembe. Both of them had a cup standing in front of them now and Red was holding a cupcake in his hand. Interesting. He was intently watching the shop on the other side of the street. Still nothing suspicious, although she was wondering why he was staring at that entrance so intently.

She was concentrating on the guys so hard, that she almost jumped out of her skin when something pounced on her back.

"This lookout is for children and not adults. So…go away."

Hudson started barking, trying to protect his best friend from this small, but ferocious intruder, who was clinging to a wiggling Liz' back.

"I don't care." Liz muttered. "I'm with the FBI and I have to hide here and observe a criminal." True enough.

Liz found it almost funny how round the kids eyes suddenly grew. He climbed off her back and let himself fall onto his belly next to her.

"You're a hero?"

"No I wouldn't say I…."

"You're catching bad man, right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"See…you ARE a hero. I wanna help you-"

Liz groaned inwardly. She was most certainly NOT a hero and she did NOT want this kid helping her…with anything. She glanced at Red, who was still munching on his cupcake and turned back to the boy.

"What's your name?"

"Alex."

"Mh…nice. My name is Liz."

"Not bad either. So who are we watching?"

Liz smiled at her new and unwanted partner and was delighted to get another brilliant idea.

"Ehm…Alex…where is your mom or dad?"

"Around."

"If you want to help me we need the permission of your parents."

Alex sank into deep thoughts for a while and suddenly answered.

"What's the mission?"

"You see that man eating a cupcake?" she pointed with her finger at Red, rather feeling than seeing Alex nod enthusiastically.

"He is watching the shop on the other side of the street. I can't see from here what shop it is or who works in there and I can't show myself to him because he would recognize me and disappear in an instant."

She paused looking Alex seriously into the eyes.

"If you want to help, you need to go to the shop, see what kind it is and who works in there? Make sure not to look at the man directly though. He will get suspicious. He is VERY smart, you know?"

Alex was beaming over the whole face and once again nodded.

"When you complete the mission, I'm going to buy you and your mom an ice-cream."

"Cool. I like chocolate. From this stand behind us. My mom is working there."

Liz looked around and saw the ice-cream stand immediately. The black haired woman met their eyes and waved. Both of them waved back smiling. Liz grinned at Alex.

"Repeat the rules and goals again, please. And then we go to your mom and ask permission."

The serious face Alex made before starting to repeat what she had told him, made Liz smile even more. Maybe this kid wasn't as bad as she had thought. She was lying in a lookout at a playground after all and he did have a point saying that adults weren't supposed to be up here.

"Alright, now let's go ask."

Alex' mom didn't have anything against it, although Liz told her a little bit of a different story once Alex had run of. In this version she still was an FBI Agent with an ID, which she swiftly showed the woman, but Liz was also a heartbroken woman who saw her boyfriend sitting there and probably waiting for his lover to come out of the shop to cheat on her. Instantly she had the woman's sympathy.

While telling the mother the uncensored version of the story she was observing the market place intently.

Alex walked the few meters to the shop, rounded the corner and disappeared. Red didn't react, so he didn't suspect anything. In a matter of seconds, Alex was running back to the playground smiling proudly.

"It's an antiquarian shop."

Liz frowned at this information.

"And there is a woman inside. Her name tag said Renee Gray. She is really pretty. Blond locks and all. Nice she is too." Alex was slightly out of breath and swaying from foot to foot. _Great…at least this supports my story of a cheating boyfriend. _Liz thought bitterly.

"Job well done, partner." Liz smiled through her frown, starting to rummage through her back for money.

"I'll take care of him in a few minutes but first you'll get your ice-cram. You said chocolate, right?"

Fife minutes later Liz and Hudson were returning to the playground, standing under the look-out and once again watching Red. But to Liz' surprise the men weren't alone anymore. A woman was standing in front of Red and talking to him. She looked suspiciously similar to the woman Alex had described. Beautiful hair and when she turned around to lead Red and Dembe back to the shop, Liz had to admit that she was in fact a real beauty. And she seemed familiar. Liz shook her head, dismissing this thought. She thought the same when she had seen Beth for the first time and she obviously had never met her before.

What should she do now? Follow and risk being seen, or go back to the hotel? She had seen enough for one day. But something she had noticed on Red's face was holding her back from walking away. His expression wasn't one of lust, not even remote sexual interest. It was more like shock, admiration and something she was accustomed seeing only when his eyes met hers. Something he never bestowed on anyone else, not even Dembe. She couldn't put a finger on it….yet. The only thing she could say, was that she didn't want him to look at anyone else like that. Not that she was possessive and didn't want to share, but she was simply scared that he would lose interest in her now. She had been suspecting this since they met Beth but she just couldn't understand why Red was doing this right now. It seemed as if he was actively searching for someone to replace her.

"Let's go Hudson. I wanna see what's going on in there."

Sometimes curiosity was getting the best of her.

And sometimes curiosity could kill the cat.

tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

Here comes a little treat for all those kind people who take the taime to read and review!

This time you dont need to wait long for a new chapter;)

But here comes the bad news: this is the second last chapter!

Have fun with this one anyway:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

* * *

Chapter 7

The shop door closed with a clink, the little bells above it ringing cheerily. Red couldn't say that his feelings were overly cheerful. Nervous was more like it. Nervous to the point of almost panic. Although he was overjoyed to see his long lost girl again, the prospect of actually talking to her, letting her know what he's done in his life, scared him to such an extent that he would have loved to just turn around and run. But there was Dembe standing behind him, blocking his way and Red swore under his breath.

Lisa was gathering some supplies to make them a tea and was shuffling some things aside, so that they could sit on an old sofa in the back of the shop, which was separated by a thin wall from the front of the shop.

"Sit, please. I'll be back shortly with the tea and then we can talk."

Dembe and Red slowly sat down and looked at each other.

"Well…" Red drawled. "This didn't work out as planned, now did it?"

"You found her. You can talk to her. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Of course…but at the same time no." Red sighed. "I don't want to endanger her."

Before Dembe could answer, Lisa returned with a tray and three cups of tea.

"I only had green tea left, I hope you don't mind."

Both men shook their heads, reaching for the cups. Lisa took her own and sat down opposite them in an armchair. She gazed at them and finally her eyes stayed glued to Red.

"You haven't changed much."

Red's eyebrows rose in surpise at that statement.

"You remember me?"

Lisa sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Bits and pieces…I wouldn't have recognized you with only that. But I found an old photo of us a few years ago and I look at it almost daily so it wasn't hard to spot you outside."

"Knowing somehow that I would be there…" Red's tone became teasing, knowing full well how she had known to look for him in front of her shop. Lisa blushed prettily and averted her eyes.

"Oh Beth just can't lie very good. At least to me."

Another thing she had in common with Lizzie, Red thought happily. No wonder they considered becoming friends. It would be a good thing for both of them.

"Ehm…you know…" Lisa started, still not looking at her father. "I know it might be strange but I would like to cut the chase here and just ask something." She was pulling a wild strand of hair behind her ear, while saying this. Stalling, no doubt.

"Go on." Red encouraged but at the same time braced himself for what was to come. For the blaming and the hurt that would most certainly rip out a part of his heart.

"Just….where have you been?"

Red hadn't expected this question. Didn't she want to know why he left? Why he wasn't able to protect her or her mother? Or did she simply not remember at all?

"First, grieving. Then searching…until now."

Lisa nodded and smiled.

"I guess you are wondering why I didn't ask the hard questions first, huh?"

"Actually, yes I do."

A heavy silence fell over the trio, until Lisa started to speak once more.

"I told everyone I didn't remember anything that happened. And it was true, at least until I turned 25. I let myself be hypnotized and remembered everything. Except your face. But that wasn't that important at that time. The actions were more important. That's why I am not blaming you. I am sure that was one of the reasons for you lurking around the shop and not even wanting to say hello, right?"

Red noticed only fleetingly that Dembe excused himself, going back to the front of the shop, leaving father and daughter to have some privacy.

"I am leading a quiet dangerous life, my dear. I didn't want to meet you in person because I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I lost you once…a second time would be…"

Lisa could see a tear glistening in the corner of his right eye and her features softened.

"I guess you can't tell me anything specific, right?"

"You're right."

"Alright. I expected that."

Suddenly Red stood up, took the few steps to Lisa and let himself kneel down in front of her, grasping both hands into his and dropping an affectionate kiss onto them. Slowly he let his forehead rest on their clasped hands and couldn't hold back a sob. Trying to hold back his emotions, he felt like choking on them and he let go. Another deep, painful sob tore from his chest and faintly he felt a hand caress his head and then his shoulder.

"Don't cry, Daddy. I am here. You are here."

"Oh god." Red muttered. His voice quivering and low. "I thought you were dead. I grieved for you." He gasped for air, before continuing. "I missed you so much, darling."

Lisa pushed at his shoulder so that he was upright again and wound her thin arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I missed you too." Her own voice started to shake now.

"I don't want to know anything more right now. Maybe later on but right now, I want to get to know you better. Please." Lisa didn't let go of her father, therefore she only felt the nod he gave her. Against his better judgment, Red felt unable to just leave her and never speak to her again. That was what he had been afraid of. That if he ever should speak to her he wouldn't be able to let her go again and drag her into his dangerous life. It was bad enough that Lizzie was now stuck with him and his heritage of enemies, but his daughter? He couldn't protect both of the women and himself. It was impossible even for him.

"Can I invite you for a cupcake across the street?" the words were almost choking him since he knew he wouldn't be able to give her the answers she surely wanted and deserved. Lisa drew back from him and smiled through her tears.

"I would like that."

They gathered their things and walked to the front of the shop, expecting Dembe to lurk around but found only empty space. Red furrowed his brows, confused by the absence of his friend and bodyguard but trusted him that he would have warned him if something had been wrong. Walking up to the door to open it for Lisa, he spotted a piece of paper stuck to it. In Dembe's handwriting he read:

_Had to step out. Will be back soon. Call me if you need me._

"I am sure he only went for a walk to give us some space." He told his daughter who was frowning at the note as well.

"Yeah, I am sure."

She ushered him through the door, the bells ringing once more as if to say goodbye and locked the door behind them. Both of them looked around to see if they found any trace of Dembe but came up empty.

"A long walk then." Red commented and led her to the same table he had occupied not a long time ago with Dembe.

"The yellow cupcakes are delicious. You should try one if you haven't yet."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dembe sauntered into the front part of the shop, trying not to overhear anything that was going on in the back. He was curious, of course. It was one of the goals Reaymond Reddington had been perusing since they had known each other. They had worked hard and risked a lot to achieve this goal. The goal had transformed from finding the truth to finding actually a human being but it was one and the same for both of them. This woman in there was the living truth and proof that Raymond Reddington had searched for. So yes, Dembe was curious but he was also Red's friend and he would never betray his trust and eavesdrop. If he wanted him to know, he would tell him.

Dembe was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts by a scraping at the door. His eyes bulged and he almost swallowed his tongue when he saw a familiar form pawing the door ecstatically.

"Hudson." Dembe grumbled quietly and walked to the door, opening it only a few inches so that the bells wouldn't ring. The dog slipped in and wagged his tail happily.

"Now, if that isn't a surprise." Dembe whispered affectionately and also a bit amused. "I guess Lizzie isn't far behind then…"

He waited a second and when Liz didn't walk into the shop, Dembe grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a little note for his boss and carefully taped it to the glass on the door, so that Red wouldn't miss it and then opened said door to stuck his head through it.

"Miss Elizabeth. I know you are here." When he heard nothing he smiled.

"Mr. Reddington is not here. You can come out."

And sure enough, Liz rounded the corner, holding her head down in embarrassment.

"I was just…taking a walk…and then…Hudson was following your scent?"

"Help me to get out of here and then we can talk."

Liz' head came up as fast as her eyebrows in surprise. She eyed the door and Dembe until she spotted the bells. The smirk that appeared on her lips made Dembe roll his eyes and sigh.

"Is there something long, thin and sturdy in the shop?" she asked still grinning. Dembe chose not to answer, just turned around and searched for something Liz could use. After a moment he found a curtain pole, grabbed it and handed it to Liz, who instantly got to work, angling the pole through the slit above the door, lifting the bells gently upwards and holding them in position. Dembe opened the door slightly wider, let the dog out and then slipped through it himself. Slowly he closed the door, while Liz withdrew the pole evenly. With a relieved breath both of them relaxed and smiled.

"Gosh…I feel like a school girl again. Thanks for that Dembe."

"You're welcome."

After a short silent pause Dembe took her by the arm and led her around the building.

"You followed us."

"Maybe a little." She smiled at him sheepishly, patting Hudson with one hand to relief the nervousness that was starting to creep back into her system and leaning the pole against the wall with the other one.

She watched him sigh and obviously debating with himself.

"Dembe. Please tell me what is going on. I am starting to feel kind of stupid here" It was half statement and half question and the little quiver at the end of it, broke Dembe's resolve not to tell her.

"Red found his daughter." Short and painless. Dembe hoped it was the right way to do this.

"What? You mean he found the killer?" Liz' eyes glittered with happiness for Red.

"No."  
"What do you mean no?" her eyes narrowed. "What has he done? What's he doing?"

"Nothing bad." Dembe tried to reassure her. "His daughter isn't dead. She's alive and living here in Mexico City. She works in that shop. They are talking right now."

He watched Liz' face fall.

"That's…fantastic." Dembe saw genuine happiness in her eyes but it was being overshadowed by sadness.

"Miss Elizabeth, this doesn't change anything between you and Mr. Reddington."

"Doesn't it?" Liz quipped. "He achieved his biggest, highest goal. He has what he always wanted…more than that. He's got what he never believed he COULD have. That's what he worked for so hard."

Suddenly tears started to gather in her eyes and she started to get angry at herself.

"I was just a tool. That's what I always have been. For everyone. My father, the FBI, Tom. The only one who truly loved me was Sam and then he just went and got cancer…letting Red KILL him. He left me. Willingly. Like everyone else." She was too overwhelmed to get embarrassed by her meltdown. She didn't care if someone saw her. She wanted to vanish anyway. Just disappear from the face of earth and find peace.

Liz sniffed and breathed in deeply a few times to compose herself a little to say her parting words.

"I'm gonna get home by myself. Tell Red I am really happy for him and that I wish him every luck he can get."

"Elizabeth…"

"No Dembe. No…I've had enough."

"He never saw you as a tool."

"Really? That's why he never told me about this?" she gestured wildly to the building. "Why he didn't want me to hear what he talked about with Beth? Simply dismissing me from the room?" She laughed humorlessly. "You are right! That are ALL signs for his affections for me. I am such a lucky person." The sarcasm was literally oozing from her words.

Tears now freely trailing down her cheeks, Liz abruptly turned and stalked away, followed by Hudson.

Now Dembe had to make a decision. Follow Liz or stay with Red. Red was currently too occupied and it seemed that the feeling of being watched was Liz's doing, so there was no sign of a threat right now. Besides, Red was more than capable to protect himself and his daughter. Liz on the other hand was too upset to think clearly and although Dembe would have never imagined to ever think that, he had to admit that he was worried about what she would do now. Take her own life? Seemed dramatic and not really Liz' style but she went through hell in the last year and this situation was obviously a little too much and when Red was right and she was drowning in a depression, her actions could not be foreseen and didn't have to make sense.

"Liz!" he called out and started to run after her. She didn't stop but she slowed down. A good sign, Dembe thought. But just when he was only a few meters away, Liz waved her arm and jumped into a cab, only waiting for Hudson to jump in to and closed the door, driving off without glancing back.

Dembe cursed colorfully, bent down, putting his hands on his knees and shook his head.

Red was going to kill him.

tbc...

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Please let me know if you liked it:)


	8. Chapter 8

So my dear readers...here comes the final chapter!

I am not so happy with the ending but since I have another idea already occupying my mind I was really glad to finally bring this story to an at least halfway reasonable ending. It's not that I didnt like it but this genre is just not really mine. I need some action, if you know what I mean.(that's why I smuggled in at least a bit of it into the last chapter:))

I want to thank ALL of you for the support and the great reviews and all! It really kept me going and made me totally happy!

Please let me know what you thing about the final chapter:)

Now have fun;)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Chapter 8

Liz was running. Not only physically up the stairs of the hotel but also mentally. Her mind didn't want to stay in the here and now. It would love to just shut down and stay blank for a long, long time. It was the first time since she was a child, that Liz had the feeling to have been thrust over the edge. She didn't remember how she had managed to get through her early childhood with only a few blank spots where memory loss had saved her from contemplating her whole life. Maybe she had been just too young and it had been easier to just shut the dark things out and concentrate on the good ones.

She was fumbling with her hotel key and finally able to unlock the door. Stumbling inside, she was almost unable to make out her belongings through the sheen of tears in her eyes. She felt Hudson brushing her legs now and then, not understanding why Liz was so desperate to get everything into her suitcase in record time.

"C'mon, Hudson. We're off here. Let's go home baby."

She put his leash on and within something under ten minutes she was leaving the room again, banging the door carelessly and rushing to the stairs.

When she was three stairs down her cell phone vibrated and her hand struggled into her right pocket to reject the incoming call. Just when she saw that it was Ressler calling, she felt a hard tug on her left arm, which was holding the suitcase. Her shoulder wrenched backwards and the phone slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor. Before she could react, Hudson ran after the phone, pulling her into the other direction and her foot slipped from the stair she was balancing on. Desperately she tried to cling to the banister rails but her reflexes were as jumbled as her thoughts and she felt herself fall. Liz had enough time to clear her mind for a second and let go of Hudson's leash and the next thing she knew there was a sharp pain in her shoulder and then…blissful blackness.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Dembe watched the cab drive off for a while, collecting his thoughts and then made his way back to the shop, hoping that Red and Lisa hadn't decided to take off somewhere far away.

When he spotted them in the café he breathed a sigh of relief. With quick steps he neared the pair with a tense expression on his face.

Red looked up shortly and when he saw his friend he smiled and waved him over to them.

"Dembe! Join us my friend. We were wondering where you have gone to. Lisa was just ordering her second cupcake and I was telling her how I met her mother. Would you like to…."

"We have a problem." Dembe pressed out.

Now Red looked at him properly. His taut features and the worried eyes told him enough to interpret the right thing, as always.

"Where is she?" his tone lost all hint of happiness and only worry was left. Dembe brushed a hand over his head and pulled at his neck in frustration.

"I don't know."

"What happened?" Red was already riffling through his pocket for money, glancing back at his daughter. "I am sorry Lisa, but I think I will have to leave now."

There was no question about it in his mind. Stay or leave? Not a question but a word carved in stone: Lizzie.

"Will you come back."

Red had to think about this question a little bit longer but made his choice easily enough.

"I will. I promise." He tried to smile at her, bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. She smiled at him and nodded. Red turned back to Dembe.

"Let's go."

They walked briskly to their car, not saying a word until the doors were safely shut behind them.

"Talk."

"She followed us. I told her what happened." Again, Dembe chose the fast and hopefully painless way.

"Damn it. This woman is going to be the death of me."

Silence fell over them. Dembe's eyes searching the streets for Liz's form and Red was getting nervous again.

"She wasn't in a good state, Raymond."

Red massaged his forehead, shutting his eyes tightly. This wasn't good.

"Miss Elizabeth wants to go home by herself. She wanted me to tell you that she was happy for you. And that she wishes you all the luck you can get."

"This sounds awfully like a farewell."

"I know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were nearing the hotel and the heavy silence was finally broken by Dembe's serious voice.

"I think you made a mistake in not telling her about your plan, Raymond. You are claiming all the time that she is something special but you treat her as if she is not worth of being told your plan. I can see where her idea comes from that you are using her as a tool."

"I do not!" Red barked angrily.

"I know that. I know how you feel about her."

Red stayed silent.

"you should tell her, my friend. She is desperate for her feelings to me mutual."

"HER feeling?" Red gaped at his friend. "She would never feel any kind of love for me, Dembe."

"As impossible as finding your daughter alive after so many years of grieving her?"

Red was stunned. Maybe he had misinterpreted the signs.

"Trust me, Raymond. She has deep feelings for you. Start seeing them and you will be able to understand her behavior and you will have the means to stop it and make her truly happy."

They reached the hotel and Red jumped out of the car, followed by an equally nervous Dembe, who almost ran into Red's back when he stopped walking and stood rooted to the spot.

"Raymond?"

"Oh no…" Red breathed painfully. Dembe followed his gaze and gasped.

In front of the hotel entrance stood an ambulance with open doors and a few ambulance man carrying a stretcher into the hotel. Like a flash red took off in their direction, storming before them into the hotel, grabbing the first staff member he could spot by the lapels and asked in a dangerously calm tone.

"What happened?"

The young man, Red had in his grip was starting to sweat and Red's face drew even closer to his.

"A…a guest…a woman…she fell…."

Red's fists tightened, his nose touching the other man's.

"Fell…from where?" he growled.

"S…stairs."

Red's eyes closed part in relief that it wasn't a window and part in shock that she still had fallen.

He pushed the man away and ran in direction of the staircase. In the dim light he pushed his way through a throng of people that were clearly not needed there. When he reached the floor before theirs, he stopped once again. Hudson was barking in the far corner of the staircase, held back by one of the staff members. When he looked slightly down, his eyes fell on Liz' still form, still lying on the stairs. He stepped up two steps to see her face better and gasped. A trickle of blood was making its way from the corner of her mouth to her ear and her arm was positioned in an awkward angle.

"Oh god…"

"Sir…do you know her?"

Red didn't look at the man asking him, not taking his eyes from Lizzie.

"Yes. Her name is Elizabeth Keen."

"What's your relation." Another man asked.

"She's my wife." Red shot back without even having to think about it. "How is she?"

"She fell down the stairs."

"Obviously." Red snarled at him.

"Ehm…as far as we know she has a concussion and a broken arm."

"What about the blood?" Red, for some reason, couldn't tear his eyes from the streak of blood on her skin.

"She bit her cheek while falling."

Red watched how they put a neck brace on her and applied am IV-line. Slowly they lifted her on a stretcher and checked her vitals once more. Just when they were about to start carrying her downstairs, Dembe stepped behind Red and whispered, "I will stay here with Hudson. You go with her."

Red nodded, turning around to his friend and clasping his shoulder. "Thank you." He breathed with so much pain and fear in his voice, that it made Dembe shiver, but he had the feeling that Red was thanking him not only for the dog sitting. Dembe hoped that his boss and friend wouldn't screw up his chance for love.

Red followed the group and Liz and without asking climbed into the ambulance, taking a seat next to her. When the car started to move, he leaned forward, softly touching the top of her head, lying his flat palm onto her hair. "Sweetheart. I am so sorry." He whispered brokenly. Liz didn't show any sign that she had heard anything and Red sighed in resignation. His fingers hesitantly started to caress strands of soft, thick hair and Red let his head fall forward, resting it next to Liz'. Inhaling deeply, he savored the fresh smell, that was uniquely Lizzie and closed his eyes. Red's thoughts were rushing through his mind like little mosquitos. It was his fault this has happened. Although he knew Liz' injuries weren't life threatening, it made him sick to know that he was the cause for her pain. He obviously had underrated the situation. Misjudged it completely.

When the ambulance stopped, Red stood up, watched the stretcher being slid out and followed immediately. At the examination area, a rough hand stopped him, pressing itself on his chest and pushing him backwards.

"You can't go in there." Before Red could utter even one threat, the hulk of a man smiled at him understandingly. "I know you want to see her, but we need you to fill out some papers. We need some information about her to properly help her."

Red looked to the door and back to the man. Well…he wouldn't have any problem to answer any of their questions. If they wanted to know, he even would be able to tell them how often she went to the toilet every day but he guessed that wasn't required here and he would come across like some sort of creep.

"All right. "get it over with, he though and followed the man to the reception desk to find himself almost buried by a mountain of papers he was supposed to fill out.

"Do you want me to write a whole novel about her?"

The man, who's name tag said his name was Harry, laughed deeply and made Red frown. This behavior did not fit a man who looked like the most dangerous bodyguard he had seen for years.

"Don't worry, my friend. It looks more than it is. I suspect you won't have to fill out half of it." He gestured to the waiting room and the uncomfortable looking chairs, inviting Red to sit down on one of them. "Take your time. Your wife will be in there for at least an hour.

Red's frown deepened but he wordlessly did as told and started to read through the questions on the papers and wrote down the first answers in record time.

_Two hours later…_

Red was pacing the floor of the waiting room like a madman. Harry had said an hour….now it was over two hours that Red was waiting and had not heard a word about Lizzie's condition. He had had plenty of time now to thing about their situation and he came to the conclusion that he had been a moron. Completely blind to the fact that good old Lizzie had been simply jealous. A normal human feeling which had potential to ruin everything if ignored. He vowed to himself to listen to Dembe more often in the future and make sure to tell him that too.

Just when he was about to storm to the examination doors and just burst in and demand answers, the doors opened and a man, clad in a green overall stepped out.

"Are you Raymond Reddington?"

"Yes…ye, is she alright?"

The man smiled, grasping Red's hand and shook it.

"I'm Dr. Brian Smith, I was attending to your wife."

"Great, now is she alright or not." Red's nerves were tested to the limit and he congratulated himself for being so patient. The yoga lessons must have really helped.

"She is alright. At least as far as she can be with a broken arm, dislocated shoulder and stitches at the inside of her cheek. Oh and don't forget the concussion. Although it is a mild one, she shouldn't be left alone for at least a week. Concussions can be tricky sometimes."

"That won't pose any problem. I will take care of her. Does she have to take any painkillers?"

"I already packed a paper bag for her. Just collect it at the reception desk when you leave."

After a short pause he smiled.

"She was asking for you, so I wouldn't let her wait too long. When she heard that you were here she was kind of anxious to see you." The doctor chuckled. "A fiery one you got there."

Red's eyebrows rose. He wondered what Lizzie had done to the poor soul who was holding her back. Stabbed him or her with a thermometer?

He followed the doctor through the door and into one of the four examination rooms. The lights were dimmed and the blinds completely closed. Red noticed the doctor closing the door behind him and leaving him alone with Liz. He stepped forward, looking intently at her face. Her eyes were closed and a bruise was starting to appear on her cheekbone. Her arm was stabilized in a blue sling and the rest of her body was covered with a thin sheet.

"Red?"

Although her eyes still hadn't opened, she must have felt his presence. Red reached her bed in seconds and mindful of her arm, caressed her hand with the tips of his fingers.

"Sweetheart…you gave me almost a heart attack." Silence. "Don't do that EVER again, understand?"

Liz' eyes cracked open into slits and she glanced at him briefly before averting her eyes.

"M' sorry, Red." She slurred slightly.

"Oh nonsense, darling. An almost heart attack hasn't killed me yet." He smiled at her, although he knew she couldn't see it.

"No…" her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat delicately. "I'm sorry you had to leave…your daughter." She swallowed, her throat and mouth feeling completely dried out. "I didn't mean to…" swallow, "Disturb you." She had the strong urge to wring her hands but the pain in her arm left her with only one hand being able to twist into the sheets and form a fist. She chanced a look at Red's face and he looked angry. His eyes narrowing, his features hardening and lips pressed into a thin, white line. This was his scary face, which always made her queasy when he used it.

"What are you talking about, Lizzie?" his voice low and dangerous, almost a growl, she knew that she was iin trouble. Releasing the sheets from the death grip, Liz started to fidget with the fabric of her shirt.

"I'm sure Dembe told you that I followed you." Breathing in deeply, Liz continued. "You were talking to your daughter. You found her, Red." Liz tried to smile, through the pain that was obviously not only physical. "I made you leave her. I really didn't want to."

"What DID you want? I saw the suitcase on the stairs. What were you doing?" the darkness left his voice and Liz imagined to hear despair in it.

"I wanted to give you space. I played my role. The theater play has ended, Red and the grand finale has played out perfectly with finding your daughter. I was never a lead character in this." Her voice quivered and got husky. Liz didn't want to cry and she didn't want to have this conversation here in the hospital, but she also didn't want to lie to Red and since he was here she didn't have a lot of choices left.

"I was a character who paved the way to the finale. A tool."

Liz surprised herself that she didn't feel any tears forming in her eyes. Maybe she had cried herself out. Equally surprised was she about Red's silence. No argument about the accusation she threw at him? Maybe he realized that she was right after all…

Liz closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Red, you don't need to stay here with me. I can find my own flight and get ho…" Liz almost fell out of her bed when she suddenly felt something soft and moist touch her lips. Her eyes popped open in shock and there he was. Raymond Reddington, only inches from her face and his lips attached to her own. _Oh my god…_

He wasn't kissing her in the classic sense He was holding his lips still and keeping hers affectively closed. Slowly he retreated and grinned.

"Since you don't seem to listen to the words coming out of Dembe's or my mouth, I opted for another way of telling you that you are wrong."

Liz frowned.

"Was it only a means to…."

Once again she found her lips occupied otherwise, so that she couldn't say what was swirling in her head. This time Red's lips weren't merely pressing against hers. They were moving and his tongue was bagging for entrance. Automatically, her own granted it. That was the moment her brain short-circuited and plainly stopped working. It went blank and her eyes closed. Fireworks were exploding behind her closed eyelids and when Red ended the kiss gently, a whimper left her throat.

"I would never, you hear me? NEVER, chose anyone simply above you."

"And I would never ask you to choose me above your daughter, Red. She is your DAUGHTER, your flesh and blood." Liz bit down on her lower lip, watching Red's face carefully. But he only smiled gently at her, starting once more to caress her hand with his fingertips.

"Firstly: I am Raymond Reddington and I don't let anyone put me in a position where I have to choose. I will always find a way to get my will. Secondly and most importantly: I haven't seen my daughter for decades. I found her, yes, but I will not drag her around and trap her in my dangerous life. I will talk to her once in a while, but she is my past. She has her own life and I have mine. I can live with that. I am content with the fact that she is alive and leads a perfectly normal and safe live. But you…YOU are my present AND my future, Lizzie. You are the only thing that I feel I HAVE TO be selfish about." Red smiled at her. "Drag you around and trap you in my dangerous life. Simply because I cannot imagine a life without you anymore." He watched a single tear fall from the corner of her eye and his smile vanished. "I love you, Elizabeth Keen. If you want me to go, I will go and never come back again but if you want me to stay…" Red breathed in. "then don't push me away anymore just because you think that I am not interested in you. It's not true. You deserve so much more than I can give you. But I promise you that I will love, cherish and protect you with everything I have and until I draw my last breath."

Liz' hand rose to Red's face and softly cupped his cheek. Red grasped her hand and pressed it closer to his face, relishing the feeling of her skin against his.

"I am sorry, Red."

His eyes snapped to hers in fear of rejection.

"For behaving like a child." Her features twisted into a grimace. "It wasn't fair to you."

"It doesn't matter now, darling." Red whispered relived.

"But it does." Liz argued vehemently, drawing his face closer to hers. "You don't deserve such a treatment, when you are trying so hard to offer me the best live you can."

Red chuckled at her. "You know, Dembe gave me an earful about how YOU don't deserve me behaving like I have the last few days. I guess we are even know." He winked at her playfully and she knew it was his way to apologies. She grinned at him.

"Well…I guess we behaved that way because we didn't know what to do with our feelings for each other." Her voice grew huskier word for word and the space between their faces became smaller and smaller.

"I guess you're right." Red's last word vanished almost completely in the kiss they shared once more. Time and space disappeared and the only thing they felt was a feeling of warmth and safety.

When they came up for a breath, Liz smiled cheekily at him.

"Will Dembe kiss me now too when I don't listen to him?"

"No one touches you, except me."

Liz knew he meant what he said and she was completely alright with it, but couldn't help to goad him anyway.

"Oh Red. Jealousy makes you look adorable."

The End


	9. Epilogue

A little surpise : An Epilogue!:)

I dedicate it to all the people who took the time to review and espacially to you **madparty99**:) Your idea, your treat:)

It's not a lot but a little something:)

Have fun:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ANYTHING about the Blacklist and am also NOT making any money with this story. It's only for fun:)

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Epilogue

"Don't forget my hat, Red."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

The sun was shining down on the beautiful landscape of the Cuemanco-Xochimilco conservation area and was making Liz squint. Red was climbing out of the rowboat, balancing Liz' black hat and a bag full of food in his hands. Liz stepped up to him and took the hat out of his hand, trading it for a sweet but short kiss on his lips, It worked a madly grin on Red's lips and he couldn't help but stare at his girlfriend.

Liz smiled back, turned around, calling over her shoulder, "Get your mind out of your gutter, Red and come help me find a place to picnic." and searched for a spot on her own, where she could lay out the blanket she was carrying. Finally finding one under a big tree, she called Red over and before he was able to catch up with her, Liz was already lounging on the red, fluffy blanket.

Red stood at the edge of the blanket and looked down at Lizzie with a gentleness in his eyes, she had only seen a few times on him. She felt herself blush under his gaze and patted the spot next to her.

"C'mon, Red. Sit down. Relax a bit."

Red didn't wait for another invitation and lowered himself on the ground. It didn't take long for them to eat all the sandwiches and cookies they had brought with them and Red was now packing all the dishes back into the bag. Work done, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, inhaling the smell of flowers. When he felt a heaviness and warmth envelope his arm, shoulder and right side, he smiled and opened his eyes. Looking down, he watched Liz cuddling into his side, winding her arm around his middle and looking at him. Her face was illuminated by the sunshine and her skin looked like porcelain. It could break so easy.

Red's arm encircled Liz' waist and tugged her even closer. He kissed her on her forehead and laid his head on hers.

"Thank you for being here with me, sweetheart."

He heard her chuckle and felt her fingers flicking a button of his vest.

"Thanks for showing me this place." She answered. "I've never been to such a beautiful place before." Closing her eyes, Liz sighed contently, lying her palm flat on Red's chest.

"You know what is the biggest difference between you and Tom."

"I look better." Red didn't phrase it as a question and couldn't hold back a laugh when Liz snorted very unladylike.

"Well…" she pretended to think hard, until she shrieked with laughter when Red started tickling her sides. She didn't know how it happened but the next thing she was able to feel, was the blanket under her back and Red's body covering hers. His mouth hovering over hers and the laughter died away.

"I feel safe with you." She smiled, looking deep into his curious eyes. "All the dangerous situations you put me in and I still feel safer with you than I ever felt with anyone else in the world."

Red's eyes filled with happy tears and he dropped a kiss onto her lips before pulling back slightly, smiling and driving his hand through her hair.

"And you are safe with me. Always."

He leaned down again and this time kissed her properly. As proof for his undying love for her and as a promise for never leaving her alone again.

**The real End**


End file.
